Sandy Claws Is Coming To Town
by Svinorita
Summary: Christmas Special starring Halloween Town's Finest Trick-or-Treaters! Jack decides to bring Christmas back to Halloween Town. But will he get it right this time around? Will such a novelty idea appeal to all the kids in Halloween Town? Or does a certain Trio have a few tricks up their sleeves to sabotage Jack's plan and claim the best gifts for themselves...?
1. The Nightmare During Christmas

**A/N: Hi everyone! Svinorita here with a new TNBC story and this time I've decided to write a short Christmas special featuring our favorite little troublesome Trio! I'm talking about Halloween Town's finest Trick-or-Treaters of course :D This is my first attempt at writing a** _ **Lock, Shock and Barrel**_ **Fanfic (but hopefully not my last!) I absolutely adore everything about these mischievous little guys and I've wanted to try writing some stories centered on them for quite some time now :)**

 **By the way, if you're a huge fan of Lock, Shock and Barrel like me and you haven't already checked it out, I highly recommend that you read some of the wonderful work** _ **Trilliumwoods**_ **has written about these characters! Her stories are brilliant and they are what inspired me to try writing my own Lock, Shock and Barrel stories :D** **So** _ **Trilliumwoods,**_ **if you are reading this, I'd like to say thank you for all the stories and I hope you enjoy this Christmas-themed short story! I'll try my best to make you and our favorite Trio proud :)**

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 **Sandy Claws Is Coming To Town**

 **Chapter 1 - The Nightmare During Christmas.**

Jack Skellington stood outside the entrance to Town Hall waving happily to Santa's silhouette as he watched the King of Christmas Town flying overhead in his sleigh, leaving a flurry of snowflakes in his wake. The other citizens of Halloween Town looked on in wonder and awe as the mysterious white flakes floated down from the sky and covered the streets in a thick white blanket of snow. They had never seen anything like it before and many of the monsters found the snow strange yet captivating at the same time.

"What's this?" Ethan the Corpse Kid and Cyclops both exclaimed as they stared at the snowflakes falling around them in wonder.

"I haven't got a clue." Harlequin Demon said distractedly.

"Why it's completely new!" Clown chimed in bewilderment.

"Must be a Christmas thing!" Wolfman growled in annoyance as he quickly shook off the snow that now coated his fur.

Before long, most of the monsters had gotten over their initial surprise and started playing around in the snow like excited children. Laughter filled the air as they threw caution to the wind and lost themselves in the dazzling white brilliance that surrounded them. The Vampire Brothers began playing ice hockey, using a pumpkin for a puck as they skated around on a frozen lake. Behemoth and Undersea Gal lay on their backs, making "snow monsters" where the snow had already accumulated deeply on the ground while a snowball fight erupted amongst a few of the Town's children nearby.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time and enjoying this magical Christmas phenomena that Santa had brought to their world. But for once, Jack couldn't bring himself to join the other monsters in their fun and games. Instead, he hung back uncertainly as he watched the others gamboling in the snow. A huge sense of guilt settled over him as he thought about the events that had transpired over the past few weeks and how he had nearly ruined Christmas for everyone.

The Pumpkin King let out a gloomy sigh as he remembered an old saying he'd heard somewhere before: _Don't try to be someone or something you're not. Just be yourself…_

"I am the King of Halloween Town, just as Sandy Claws is the King of Christmas Town. How could I have allowed myself to believe even for a second that I could do Sandy's job better than he can?!" Jack mused to himself sullenly. All he wanted to do was spread cheer instead of fright for a change and he'd mistakenly believed that he could achieve it by impersonating Sandy Claws and delivering gifts prepared by the citizens of Halloween Town to millions of children on Christmas Eve.

But it just wasn't right! Instead he ended up scaring countless human children and their parents with his Christmas "gifts." He had endangered the lives of both Sandy Claws and Sally in the process and he had been forced to destroy Oogie Boogie in order to save them. The list just goes on and on…

Just then, Jack's thoughts were interrupted by a snowball hitting him right in the face. The Pumpkin King quickly wiped the snow out of his eye sockets and was met with a chorus of high-pitched childish laughter coming from the direction of the fountain. He caught a brief glimpse of three little heads ducking back down behind the wall of the fountain as they continued laughing at him and Jack couldn't help smiling himself. The tip of Shock's hat protruded above the wall like a beacon and the Pumpkin King shook his head in amusement.

Even as he stood there watching, the Trio sent another barrage of snowballs flying in Jack's direction, forcing the Pumpkin King to take evasive action to avoid getting hit again.

"Why you devilish, witchy, ghoulish rascals!" Jack called out to his assailants warningly. He started making his way over to their hiding place slowly and deliberately.

"He's coming this way!" Lock exclaimed, dropping the snowball he had been in the process of rolling as he peeked over the wall and saw Jack's tall, slim figure approaching purposefully.

"Time to scram!" Shock shouted as she and her two cohorts took off running with yelps of mock-fear.

Jack's expression was intimidating, but his intentions were playful as he started going after them. But he'd barely taken two steps before the Mayor appeared from around a corner and intercepted him. The portly politician had a slightly worried look on his face as Jack stopped in front of him.

"Jack! I wanted to make sure that you're alright." The Mayor's unhappy face swiveled around as he spoke and he gestured to the snow all around them. "You've been awfully quiet and serious ever since this cold white stuff started falling from the sky…"

But Jack was only half-listening to the Mayor, his eye sockets staring absently at the corner of a building that Lock, Shock and Barrel had disappeared behind moments earlier. Suddenly, the Pumpkin King tensed up as an idea hit him like a snowball to the face and he snapped his bony fingers in revelation.

"Of course! How could I have been so stupid?!" Jack exclaimed distractedly.

The Mayor gave him a confused look. "What? I didn't say you were stupid!" He protested defensively.

"No! I didn't mean that Mayor!" Jack said, offering the Mayor a small smile of reassurance. He pointed towards a snow-covered wall a short distance away that Lock, Shock and Barrel were currently trying to clamber over. Lock had already managed to scale the slippery stone wall and he kept pushing Shock and Barrel off every time either of them had almost made it to the top, his pointy teeth glinting maliciously in the moonlight as he taunted them from his lofty perch.

"Look at them!" Jack insisted with a smile of fondness. "And him…" He added, pointing to Ethan who was building what appeared to be a "snow corpse" out of a mound of slushy snow and mud near the entrance leading to the Pumpkin Patch. "And him. And him too…"

The Mayor looked on in puzzlement as Jack pointed to the small winged-demon kid and the equally diminutive mummy boy as they chased each other around the snowy streets with high-pitched squeals of glee.

"Yeah Jack I'm looking…" The Mayor tilted his head at the Pumpkin King questioningly. "But what exactly am I meant to be _seeing?_ Those are just some of our Town's kids."

"My point exactly!" Jack said, nodding encouragingly. "We have so many kids in this Town and all this time it never occurred to me that I could have made Christmas for _them_ instead of trying to surprise the human children!" Jack sighed regrettably as he watched the children of Halloween Town playing in the snow with the universal carefreeness that all youngsters (be they human or monstrous) share in common.

"I should have given those Christmas gifts we created to our Town's children instead of kidnapping Sandy Claws and trying to take over his holiday! At least then I could have guaranteed that our gifts would have been appreciated and I could have made our Town's youngsters so happy!" Jack looked down at his shoes and shook his head sadly. "Instead I ended up making a complete fool out of myself…"

The Mayor shrugged his shoulders and replied a little hesitantly. "I understand where you're coming from Jack. But then again, we wouldn't want to spoil them or anything. I mean, they all receive treats on Halloween…"

But Jack had already made up his mind and he interrupted the Mayor with that stubborn determination the Pumpkin King was highly renowned for. "No! I've decided that from now on, our Town's children are going to receive Christmas presents too!"

Jack looked at the Mayor thoughtfully and ventured, "Mayor? The Christmas toys our Townspeople made… are there any leftover that we didn't pack into the sleigh before I set out to deliver the presents earlier?"

The Mayor's happy face suddenly swiveled around and he grinned at Jack optimistically. "I think there may be a few that we cast aside because there wasn't enough room on the sleigh."

"Splendid! Let's take a look at what we've got…" Jack said as he followed the Mayor into Town Hall, where he was told the "rejected" presents had been put in storage.

As they disappeared into the vast building, they didn't hear the small footsteps made by the little devilish figure darting back to his hiding place behind the big, stone wall he'd been sitting on earlier. Lock had been eavesdropping on Jack and the Mayor's conversation for some time now and he couldn't wait to tell his two cohorts what he'd heard!

" _So, Jack is planning to surprise us with some stupid Christmas gifts is he? Well, we'll see about that…"_ The little devil thought to himself with a malicious grin. Personally, he thought Christmas was pretty lame compared to Halloween and he highly doubted that Jack would give them anything remotely interesting for a present…

So Lock decided that he and his two cohorts should try to sabotage Jack's plan instead. Not only would it be fun (for them at least!) but he saw it as an opportunity to outsmart the Pumpkin King at his own game! Jack had already made a huge mockery out of Sandy Claws' holiday and nearly ruined Christmas for all the poor little human children. Well, this time Halloween's finest tricksters were going to ruin Jack's surprise personally! It's about time that bonehead stopped trying to act like Sandy Claws and turned his attention back to being the Pumpkin King!

By the time Lock returned to his cohorts, he found Shock chipping away at the stone wall with her knife, collecting some small pebbles for her slingshot while Barrel sat nearby, biting into a big snowball he'd made from some hard compacted snow.

Barrel pulled a face as he bit into his snowball experimentally. "This stuff is cold and tasteless!" He complained through a mouthful of snow. But instead of spitting it out, the little ghoul swallowed the snow regardless and proceeded to take another tentative bite out of the snowball in his hands.

Shock turned and threw a pebble at him irritably. "Do you have to put everything in your mouth dummy?!"

"I can't help it! I'm hungry!" Barrel whined defensively. "I have to eat so I can grow big and strong like the other ghouls!"

"Well, you're already big!" Shock retorted meanly. "As for strong, I don't know whether you'll ever grow strong or just fat and lazy…"

Before Barrel could protest, Lock interrupted their conversation by clearing his throat loudly. "Hey guys! Guess what Jack has planned for us now…"

Shock got up from her crouching position and dusted the snow off her dress indifferently. "Let me guess. Who does he want us to kidnap for him now?"

Barrel groaned reluctantly. "Do we have to? Can't we just stay here and rest? I'm tired and hungry and I don't feel like going through another Holiday Door right now!"

"Don't worry! We're not kidnapping anyone this time." Lock assured his friends with a devious grin. "From what I heard, Jack doesn't expect us to do anything but sit by and wait while he plans his big surprise…"

"That doesn't sound like such a bad thing. I like sitting!" Barrel interrupted eagerly.

Shock turned to her younger cohort and cuffed him on the head roughly with the flat of her hand.

Barrel gave the young witch a despairing look. "Ow! Why'd you do that for?" He whined, rubbing the back of his head gingerly with one hand.

"Well since you enjoy sitting around so much, why don't you just keep sitting and shut your mouth dummy?! Let Lock finish!" Shock sneered meanly.

Lock snorted with amusement. "Thank you Shock." The little devil folded his arms over his chest and bared his teeth slightly in contempt as he explained to his cohorts what he'd overheard earlier. "Apparently, Jack is planning to create his own version of Christmas right here in Town. He wants to surprise us and all the other kids in Town with gifts and expects us to act all happy and excited. Maybe he even expects us to start chanting _Ho, Ho, Ho…"_

Lock paused uncertainly, his tail flicking from side-to-side as he thought hard for a moment. "Or is it supposed to be _Ha, Ha, Ha…?"_

"Well, I think that's pretty lame." Shock said tartly. The young witch looked around at the monsters playing in the snow and frowned thoughtfully. "I mean, what do we need Christmas for when we've got Halloween?!"

"Yeah! Halloween is the best!" Barrel agreed boastfully. His sunken eyes glinted hungrily as he quickly added, "We get rewarded with heaps of candy just for scaring people!"

Lock and Shock both gave their youngest cohort looks of disgust as they watched him pull some weird-looking sweet out of his pocket and start munching on it greedily.

"What in the name of Halloween are you eating now?!" Lock asked his littlest cohort with a grimace of distaste. Barrel was licking a red and white striped candy that resembled a tiny walking stick and neither Lock nor Shock had the slightest idea what it was.

"Oh this?" Barrel ventured innocently, taking the candy out of his mouth and showing it to his older cohorts reverently. "This is really yummy! I found it in Sandy Claws' pocket when we kidnapped him…"

The little ghoul quickly shoved the candy cane back into his mouth and shrugged at Lock and Shock apologetically. "I should have taken some more to share with you guys. But I only took ten and this is the last one!"

Shock waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "I don't want any of your dumb Christmas candy anyway! I still have most of my candy leftover from this Halloween." The young witch smiled at her youngest cohort smugly and bragged, "It usually lasts me at least three months!"

Barrel stared her with open-mouthed amazement. "How is that even possible?! I always get more candy on Halloween than you and Lock combined…" He gave them both a pitying look and insisted, "…I can't help it that I'm the smallest and cutest! Anyway, my candy only seems to last me three days at most!"

"Well maybe that's because you're stuffing your face constantly!" Shock pointed out curtly.

"Yeah! And once you've finished all your candy, you're always helping yourself to mine!" Lock added accusingly.

Barrel's jaw hung open in disbelief. "How did you…"

"What? How do I know?" Lock cut him off, his teeth bared in what was either an angry snarl, or a teasing smirk. Barrel wasn't quite sure which, but he found it deeply unnerving whenever Lock flashed his teeth at him like that. Although Lock had never tried to deliberately bite him or anyone else that he was aware of, Barrel didn't fancy finding himself on the receiving end of those razor-sharp teeth…

Thankfully, Lock was only teasing. His snarl turned into a wicked smile as he put his hands on his hips and stated boldly, "Well I may not be the smallest or the _widest_ like you, but I am the cleverest!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Lock noticed Shock opening her mouth to protest. He shot her a warning look and continued talking to Barrel in a cool, confident tone. "Anyway, I don't care if you help yourself to my candy or not! I like to keep my teeth nice and sharp instead of ruining them with all that sugar!"

Barrel's eyes lit up with excitement despite the attention Lock had inevitably drawn to his teeth again. "Really? Well, if you insist then! That's one offer I can't refuse!"

With that, Barrel resumed munching on his candy cane contentedly. Who says you shouldn't make deals with devils?! Especially when that deal involves candy…

Lock threw a quick glance in the direction of Town Hall to make sure Jack wasn't leaving yet, then promptly turned his attention back to his two cohorts and addressed them in a bold, determined tone of voice. "So what do you say guys? Should we follow Jack in secret and ruin his plans or what?"

Shock and Barrel exchanged malicious looks and nodded in agreement.

"Let's do it!" Barrel exclaimed eagerly.

"It only seems fair! After all, Jack kind of ruined our lifestyle by destroying Oogie." Shock shook her head regretfully and said, "I couldn't care less that Oogie is gone, but I'm really going to miss the snake and spider stew he used to cook for us…"

Lock and Barrel nodded with silent understanding. Just then, the three trick-or-treaters heard the sound of footsteps approaching their hiding place and they quickly ducked out of sight as Jack's long skeletal legs raced past at an impressive speed.

"Come on Zero! Hurry up boy!" The Pumpkin King called out purposefully. Lock, Shock and Barrel held their breaths in anticipation as they listened to Zero's excitable barking fading into the distance as he followed his master towards the Holiday Doors in the woods.

The Trio waited for a few moments to make sure neither Jack nor Zero would see them following. Then they emerged from their hiding place and started following Jack's footprints in the snow at a steady pace. Barrel trailed behind his two older cohorts a little hesitantly.

"Where do you think he's going guys?" The little ghoul whispered unsurely.

"Christmas Town I imagine! Where else would he be going dummy?!" Shock whispered back snottily.

"Quiet! He might hear us, morons!" Lock hissed impatiently as he led the way through the snow-covered graves of the cemetery and headed towards the Hinterlands beyond. "Let's just see what he's up to first and then we'll figure out how we're going to ruin his plans!"

With that, the three little tricksters followed the Pumpkin King's tracks deeper into the woods. Up ahead on the trail, Jack was blissfully unaware that he was being shadowed by the very same three children he wanted to surprise the most with his newest Christmas ambition…

 _To Be Continued…_


	2. Jack's Dream of a Nightmare Christmas

**Chapter 2 - Jack's Dream of a Nightmare Christmas.**

The Trio decided to pick up the pace as they followed Jack's footprints through the Hinterlands. They had already given the Pumpkin King a generous head start to minimize the possibility that he might hear them following him, and now all three felt confident that there was enough distance between them to avoid being detected.

"Come on! We don't want to fall too far behind! We might lose him!" Lock urged his two cohorts as he broke into a run and led the way deeper into the woods.

"We can't lose him because we already _know_ where he's headed, dummy!" Shock retorted sarcastically, her boots crunching noisily over the snow as she tried her best to keep up with the nimble little devil ahead of her.

"Do you guys have to go so fast?!" Barrel protested as he brought up the rear, his little chest heaving from the exertion as he lagged further and further behind his older cohorts.

Shock shot him an irritated look over her shoulder as she ran. "Stop your whining and hurry up, slowpoke!"

"I'm trying! My legs are much shorter than yours and Lock's!" Barrel pointed out defensively. But it was no use. Lock and Shock ignored his complaints and kept running down the dark, narrow trail that snaked its way through the dead trees of the Hinterlands. The little ghoul let out a miserable groan and forced his tired limbs to carry him faster. Why did those stupid Holiday Doors have to be so deep in the woods anyway?! Barrel wished that whoever had originally designed those Doors could have placed them a little closer to Town so he wouldn't have to run such a long way…

The Trio finally arrived at the circular clearing where the Holiday Doors were and saw that Jack's footprints led to the Christmas Door just like they had expected. All three children grinned with malicious anticipation as they approached the doorway carved in the shape of a Christmas tree and jumped through, their high-pitched laughter trailing behind them as they fell through the swirling white flurry of snowflakes beyond.

Moments later, Lock, Shock and Barrel were sitting on a snowy hilltop overlooking Christmas Town as the portal deposited them into the heart of Sandy Claws' realm. A short distance behind them was a grove of evergreen trees which they recognized from their previous visit to Christmas Town as the anchor point of the Holiday Doors in this land. Carved into the bark of those particular trees were the symbols representing each of the seven Holiday Worlds just like those in the Hinterlands surrounding Halloween Town. The Door with the Jack-o-Lantern carving would take them back to their own world once they had completed their secret mission…

"Okay. We know that Jack is here somewhere." Lock said, his keen yellow eyes surveying the bright, bustling streets of Christmas Town from his vantage point on the hilltop. The little devil was peering intently at the snow, trying to locate any trace of Jack's footprints leading into Town. But even with his excellent eyesight, he was unable to find any tracks indicating where the Pumpkin King may have gone.

Lock sighed in frustration and looked at his cohorts hopefully. "Do either of you have any ideas as to where he might be right now?"

"Well you said that you overheard him mention something about surprising the kids of Halloween Town with Christmas presents?" Shock reminded him with a slightly annoyed look. She gestured towards a familiar-looking large house located at the other end of Town from their hill and boasted loudly, "I say we go to Sandy's house and look for Jack there. He obviously came here to see Sandy Claws about something…"

"How can you be so sure?" Barrel interrupted the young witch doubtfully.

Shock gritted her teeth in irritation and growled. "Because I don't see any other logical reason for him to come here! You saw what happened when Jack tried to take this whole Christmas thing into his own hands before? He completely screwed it up and nearly got himself blown to smithereens!"

"So in other words, you think Jack came here looking for advice from the Big Red Lobster Man himself?" Lock offered, turning his gaze in the direction of Sandy's house in the distance.

"Precisely!" Shock confirmed with a smug expression. "Now let's go already! We need to hurry if we want to find out what Jack is planning to do before he decides to head back to Halloween Town!"

With that, Shock took off at a brisk pace towards Christmas Town, ignoring Lock's protests as he expressed his displeasure at the young witch for leading the way instead of him. Barrel brought up the rear as usual, sighing gloomily and mumbling under his breath. _"Here we go again! More running…"_

The Trio tried their best to stick to the shadows as they made their way through the colorful streets, but it wasn't easy. Christmas Town was constantly lit up with bright fairy lights and shiny decorative tinsel was strewn across every building and tree, so there weren't many shadows around to provide cover for the three trick-or-treaters as they headed through the center of Town. The streets were also packed with hordes of elves that were loudly expressing their joy and relief that Santa had managed to save Christmas in the nick of time after having mysteriously disappeared from Town last night.

It soon became clear that Shock's hunch concerning the Pumpkin King's whereabouts had been correct after all. As the trick-or-treaters neared their destination, they discovered that Jack was indeed talking to Sandy Claws and judging by the urgency in the Pumpkin King's voice, they figured it must be about something important…

Lock, Shock and Barrel quickly took cover behind a nearby fir tree and listened in captivated silence while Jack spoke to Sandy Claws in a desperate-sounding voice. "Please Sandy! If you do this one favor for me, I swear on my skull and on everything I hold dear that I'll never bother you or Christmas Town again!"

"Sandy Claws" (a.k.a. Santa) glared at the Pumpkin King distrustfully. When he finally answered, his voice sounded tired and unenthusiastic. "Let me get this straight. You want me to help you deliver some presents to the children of Halloween Town?"

Jack nodded eagerly. "Yes Mr. Claws! It would mean an awful lot to me and all the children of Halloween Town if you would!"

"Well, I'm afraid I have a few problems with that, Jack." Santa said, stifling a yawn and giving the Pumpkin King an apologetic look. "First of all, I'm an old man who's not in the best of shape and my reindeer aren't exactly yearlings anymore. I had to make them work extra-hard tonight in order to fix the mess you made out of my Holiday!"

Jack hung his head as Santa's reminder hit him with a fresh wave of guilt. "I'm so sorry about that Sandy. I know what I did was wrong and I never intended to cause so much trouble for you or anyone else…" He looked up slowly and offered the King of Christmas Town a hopeful smile before continuing. "But Halloween Town is not that far from here and you wouldn't have to fly at all. I spoke to The Mayor before coming here and he agreed to lend us his hearse to deliver the presents to the children of Halloween Town!"

Santa shuddered impulsively upon hearing this. "A hearse you say? Well isn't that just jolly…"

"No, it's actually quite depressing." Jack corrected with a small smile. "But there's heaps of room for the presents in the back and it's got an inbuilt megaphone that we could use to spread some Christmas cheer as we drive through Town."

Santa cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. The idea of riding around in a hearse while Jack shouted _"Merry Christmas"_ through the megaphone was starting to make him feel really uncomfortable…

"Be that as it may Jack, have you stopped and asked yourself whether the children of Halloween Town _deserve_ presents?" Santa felt a shiver roll down his spine as the memory of being abducted from his home by those three masked trick-or-treaters and stuffed into a sack flashed through his mind. "I can still see those three horrible kids in my mind; the ones that kidnapped me and nearly got me killed! Do they really deserve to get presents after committing such a heinous crime?!"

From their hiding place behind the big fir tree, the three trick-or-treaters exchanged confused looks. "What does _heinous_ mean, you guys?" Barrel whispered to his older cohorts curiously.

"I don't know, but I don't like the way he said it." Lock whispered back, his teeth bared in a disapproving sneer. The little devil registered a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see Shock load a rather large stone into her slingshot and aim it at Sandy Claws' head skillfully.

"What are you doing?!" Lock hissed, slapping the slingshot out of Shock's hand. "We're not meant to be here remember?!"

Shock glared at her younger cohort angrily. "Didn't you hear what that fat old man just said? He accused us of almost getting him killed and threatened not to give us any presents!" The young witch gritted her teeth and gave Santa a reproachful glare. "I wanted to give him a piece of my mind!"

"This isn't the time or place for that." Lock reminded her begrudgingly. He aimed an equally contemptuous stare at Santa and growled with frustration. "As much as I'd love to use that Lobster Man for target practice myself, right now we need to find out why Jack has come all this way to see him and what he's planning to do next…"

Meanwhile, Jack was trying his best to console Santa and put his mind at ease. He flashed his most charming smile at the traumatized King of Christmas Town. "You know what they say: kids will be kids! It wasn't their fault." He let out a small chuckle and insisted, "I bet some evil adult put that terrible idea into their heads and as King of Halloween Town, I promise you that I won't let it happen again!"

"You don't say…" Santa muttered, his eyes searching the Pumpkin King's dark eye sockets suspiciously.

Jack looked away uncomfortably and tried to change the subject. "Anyway, my point is that _all_ children deserve presents. Sure, some of them may have been a little naughty in the past, but they're still children and they would get pretty upset if they saw everyone else receiving presents while they missed out."

Jack sighed and looked at Santa hopefully. "Having said that, I do have one other request to ask you, Sandy. I don't suppose you might have some presents you could spare for us? We have a few leftover that our Townsfolk made, but it's not quite enough…"

Santa nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving Jack's pleading expression. "Well, I've already delivered all the presents to the good children around the world. But there might be one thing…"

Santa gestured to a building a few streets down from his house and explained, "Every year we have a number of young apprentice elves here that are still learning the art of toy-making. Some of the toys they produce don't always pass the quality control tests and we end up putting those defective products into storage before eventually discarding them."

"I see... may I ask what the nature of some of these defects is?" Jack asked curiously.

"Oh, it's usually only small things like teddy bears with missing eyes or cars that don't have all their wheels. Maybe even some chipped marbles and so on…" Santa said with a small smile.

"That sounds splendid!" Jack exclaimed happily. "The children of Halloween Town would love toys like those, Sandy! They're perfect!"

Santa shrugged indifferently. "Well, if you're happy with it then I guess that's fine." He started walking towards the building he had indicated earlier and motioned for Jack to follow with a wave of his arm. "I'll take you to the factory where we store the defective toys and you can take your pick."

"Oh thank you so much Mr. Claws! You have no idea how much I appreciate your help!" Jack sang as he followed Santa to the factory eagerly.

Santa snorted humorlessly and grumbled. "Yes. Just so you know, I'm missing out on Mrs. Claus' cookies right now in order to help you. So I sincerely hope you intend to keep that promise you made about never bothering me again if I do this for you!"

Jack nodded and raised his hand like he was taking an oath. "Skeleton honor."

Lock and Shock exchanged conniving looks with each other as they watched Jack and Sandy Claws cross the street and enter a factory that looked like it wasn't used as often as the others they'd seen on their way through Town.

Shock cautiously poked her head out from behind the tree to check that the coast was clear before turning back to her devilish cohort with a mischievous grin. "We'd better get back to Halloween Town now that we know what Jack intends to do. That way we'll be ready for him once he starts delivering those presents to the other kids and we'll be able to check what everyone is getting before they discover their gifts!"

By this point, Shock was getting so excited at the prospect of stealing presents from the other kids, that her voice sounded shriller than usual and she couldn't help cackling with anticipation. "If we see anything we like, we can help ourselves to the other's presents and leave something else in their place!" The young witch looked thoughtful for a moment before offering with a wicked smile, "A mouse trap or a dead bird maybe…"

Lock nodded in approval, his yellow eyes glinting with excitement in the moonlight. "I've gotta give it to you Shock, that sounds like a great idea!" A sinister smile broke out on the little devil's face, revealing his blade-like teeth as he unleashed a chilling laugh of his own. "We deserve only the best presents! We _are_ Halloween's finest Trick-or-Treaters after all! Jack said so himself! We have a right to take whatever we want from the others and there's nothing they can do about it!"

The Trio were about to start heading back to the Holiday Doors, when Shock realized that Barrel had been awfully quiet for a while now. She frowned and looked around in confusion, but the little ghoul was nowhere in sight. Lock meanwhile, seemed totally oblivious to his friend's absence. He turned and was about to start walking back the way they'd come when he felt Shock grabbing him by the tail and pulling him back roughly.

"What's your problem now?!" The little devil snapped, shooting his older cohort an angry glare. His tail was very sensitive and he hated anyone touching it… especially Shock! She knew how much Lock despised having his tail pulled, so sometimes she _deliberately_ yanked him by the tail just to annoy him!

Lock struck out with his hand, intending to grab and pull Shock's nose in retaliation. But his hand froze mid-swipe as soon as he saw the look on her face. Something wasn't right. Shock's expression was grim and her coal-black eyes looked uneasy. "Oh, we have a problem alright." She said pointing to the ground nearby where a pair of tiny three-toed footprints were rapidly disappearing under a covering of fresh snow.

"Barrel has gone missing…"

* * *

 **A/N: First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has decided to tune in to this story so far! I hope you're all enjoying it and that you choose to stick around and find out what happens next (there's a really sweet/heartwarming scene involving Barrel coming up in the next chapter…)**

 **I'd also like to send out an extra-special thank you to** _ **Trilliumwoods**_ **and** _ **Tripledent**_ **for the wonderful reviews to the previous chapter :)** **You two are my favorite authors on FanFiction, so I feel really honored to receive feedback from you both :D**

 **Thank you as well to _Ladynoir4Life208_ for showing your support by favoriting this story too :)**

 **That's all for now! I'll try to have the next chapter ready sometime later this week :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	3. Santa's Little Apprentice?

**Chapter 3 – Santa's Little Apprentice?**

Barrel was on his very own secret mission. He had quickly become bored with listening to Jack and Sandy Claws' conversation, so he decided to go in search of his own fun. It's not like he hadn't tried to convince Lock and Shock to come with him. The little ghoul had done all he could to get his older cohorts' attentions, but apparently they were both so caught up in what Jack and Sandy Claws were saying, that they seemed to forget Barrel was even there!

" _Fine! I can have fun without those two sticks-in-the-mud!"_ Barrel thought as he slipped away from his older cohorts undetected.

Now as Barrel wandered through the streets of Christmas Town on his own, he felt glad that he didn't have Lock and Shock accompanying him after all! He could do whatever he wanted at his own pace, instead of being forced to go along with whatever his older cohorts decided their next course of action should be!

This was a rare opportunity for Barrel to have his own adventure and he certainly didn't waste any time enjoying his newfound freedom! He had already broken into several houses on one of the quieter streets at the northern end of Town and managed to steal a dozen or so candy canes and other Christmas treats. There were snowmen in front of every house he visited and Barrel had a great time demolishing these as he went. He even tried to eat one snowman's carrot nose out of curiosity, but ended up pulling a bitter face and spitting it out. It was frozen and he didn't like the taste one bit!

After a while, Barrel began to get bored with obliterating snowmen. So he headed towards the center of Town in the hope of finding something more interesting to eat or play with there. He discovered a carousel with strange-looking wooden animals that he did not recognize mounted on posts and he decided to hop on and ride one of them for a few minutes. Although it was quite fun at first, Barrel soon got bored with the repetitive bobbing motion. He dismounted the animal he'd been riding, a funny-looking black and white bird that appeared to have flippers instead of wings and stepped off the carousel unsteadily, his head spinning slightly from the ride's dizzying circular momentum.

Not long after leaving the carousel, Barrel stumbled across a small group of those odd-looking flightless birds resembling the wooden one he'd just ridden, waddling around the skating rink at the other end of Town. He stopped in his tracks and watched them curiously. They moved so comically that Barrel couldn't resist the urge to try and catch one!

" _It shouldn't be too hard."_ He thought with a wicked grin. " _I may not be the fastest on my feet, but those ridiculous birds look even slower and clumsier than me!"_

The little ghoul felt so confident he could catch the penguins easily, that he didn't even bother to hide as he approached them. He gave a whoop of delight and ran towards them with reckless abandon, his wide three-toed footprints leaving strikingly similar marks as the penguin tracks in the snow surrounding the skating rink. The penguins turned to look at the rapidly-approaching ghoul and squawked in alarm before scattering in different directions.

Barrel soon realized that he had greatly underestimated their speed. As he got closer to the skating rink, the birds dropped down on the slick surface and slid across the ice on their bellies with surprising quickness. Barrel on the other hand, took one step on the slippery ice and instantly found his feet sliding out from under him…

The next thing he knew, he was lying flat on his back and staring up at the sky in bewilderment. The penguins meanwhile, retreated to a safe distance then turned to look back at their pursuer cautiously.

Barrel groaned and sat up slowly. His five-year-old mind was struggling to comprehend what had just happened and he dared not move for several seconds following his fall. Then ever so carefully, he pressed one hand against the smooth surface of the ice experimentally. When it didn't slip out from under him like his feet had, he put his other hand on the ice in front of him and somehow managed to get himself "standing" awkwardly on all fours. But as soon as he tried to lift his hands off the ice and stand up properly, he felt himself beginning to slip and fall again!

In the end, the little ghoul had no choice but to slip and slid off the skating rink on all fours, his head down as he leaned his weight onto his hands and his bottom sticking up in the air while his legs kept splaying out behind him. When he finally reached the safety of firm snow at the edge of the skating rink, Barrel stood up straight and glared at the penguins reproachfully.

"I don't want to waste my time chasing you dumb birds anyway!" He shouted defiantly. "You're the lamest animals I ever saw!" With that, Barrel turned away from the skating rink and started stomping through the snow sulkily. But just then, he spied something half-buried at the edge of the skating rink and he stopped, intrigued. Barrel bent down and began digging the mystery object out of the snow, his perpetual grin growing even wider when he saw what it was…

He had found a small red hat with white trim that closely resembled the one he'd seen Sandy Claws wearing. But this hat had obviously belonged to a child not much bigger than himself because as soon as Barrel tried it on, he discovered that it fit his head perfectly! Feeling excited with his find, Barrel resumed exploring Christmas Town with renewed enthusiasm. He came across some sparkly gold and silver tinsel hanging from a fir tree in the center of Town and he decided to wrap it around his neck like a scarf.

Barrel laughed to himself happily as he walked up to a large building not far from the giant Christmas tree in the middle of Town and paused to admire his reflection in the large window. He wiped off the frost that glazed the window with one hand and peered into the building curiously. Suddenly, Barrel felt the breath catch in his throat and he pressed his face right up to the glass to get a better look at the wonderful sight inside…

Judging by the size and location of the building, the little ghoul guessed that this must be Christmas Town's own version of Town Hall. Christmas decorations adorned the walls within the spacious building and Barrel saw a warm inviting fire crackling in the hearth. It seemed like the longer he stood there watching that fire, the more noticeable the wind chill became and he soon found himself shivering from the cold. Being a ghoul meant that his body temperature tended to run a little on the cooler side regardless of the temperature outside. Still, he wasn't immune to getting hypothermia and right now, Barrel really wanted to sit next to that fire and get warmed up! But it wasn't just the prospect of a nice warm fire that Barrel found so captivating inside this building…

There, sitting in a circle in front of the hearth, was a group of young elves. The majority of them looked a little older than Barrel, but they were definitely children and Barrel noticed they were all paying attention to a smiling, portly lady standing in their midst. The little ghoul stared curiously at the old lady through the window. She was quite round with gray hair and she reminded Barrel a little bit of Sandy Claws.

"Maybe she's Sandy Claws' sister…?" He wondered out loud as he watched the old lady handing out glasses filled with some unrecognizable white drink to each young elf. Suddenly, Barrel felt his heart flutter in his chest and he let out a little moan of longing as the elderly lady started passing around a plate of delicious-looking cookies to the excited little elves!

That's it! Barrel decided he had to get some of those cookies at any cost!

Abandoning all caution to the wind, Barrel ran around to the front of the building and tried the door. To his utter relief, the doorknob was positioned quite low to accommodate the height of the elves (most of which were not much taller than Barrel himself!) so for once he had no trouble reaching it despite his short stature!

Barrel's heart was beating fast with anticipation as he gripped the doorknob with trembling fingers and turned it slowly so as to avoid making too much noise. The little ghoul pushed open the door and began to drool uncontrollably as the smell of freshly-baked cookies reached his nose. Enticed by the delightful aroma, Barrel entered the room and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. No one seemed to notice his arrival yet, so he inched his way closer to the group of children and sat down at the farthest end of the circle next to a very tiny elf.

The young elf turned to look at Barrel inquisitively. Barrel stared back at him with equal curiosity, noting just how small this particular elf was… _"I thought I'm small, but this kid is even tinier than me!"_ The little ghoul realized with a sense of wonder. Feeling reassured that his new buddy posed no threat to him at all, Barrel relaxed and offered him a friendly grin.

The little elf smiled back joyfully. He shifted around so that he was facing Barrel better and greeted him in a chirpy, excited voice. "Hello! You must be new here?"

Barrel nodded shyly in response. The little elf's smile grew even broader as he introduced himself jovially. "My name is Mads and I'm an apprentice elf! My parents say that I'm going to be the best toy-maker in Christmas Town someday! So they enrolled me here, to study with Santa!"

Mads paused and looked at Barrel thoughtfully. "Did your parents send you here to learn about toy-making too?" He asked curiously.

Barrel dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head sadly. "No. I lost my parents a long time ago. I don't remember them much…"

"Oh… I'm sorry." Mads whispered quietly. He reached out with his tiny hand and patted Barrel on the arm sympathetically.

Barrel gave the little elf a grateful smile. He felt comforted by the compassionate gesture and decided that he could trust Mads enough to share a special memory from his past – something that he scarcely talked about, but often _dreamed_ about as vividly as though he were reliving those precious moments from a time in his life that had long-since faded into obscurity…

"I don't remember what my parents looked like, but I do remember my mom's voice. She used to sing to me when I was a baby and even now I wake up sometimes and I can still hear her voice as clear as day!" Barrel closed his eyes and sighed nostalgically. "Another thing I remember about my mom is that she used to bake the best cookies in Town…"

Cookies! Barrel suddenly remembered the whole reason he'd come into this building in the first place! His eyes flew open and he looked eagerly for the portly lady with the platter of cookies. He saw her at the opposite end of the circle, chatting to some of the older children while they helped themselves to the cookies she was offering to them.

"Are we going to get any of those lovely cookies from that lady too?" Barrel asked Mads hopefully.

Mads looked at the gray-haired lady and started giggling joyously. "You mean Mrs. Claus? Of course we are, silly! She baked them especially for us!" He turned back to Barrel and gave him a playful nudge on the shoulder. "You really are new here aren't you? You've never met Mrs. Claus before?!"

Barrel shrugged innocently, but kept his eyes focused intently on Mrs. Claus. He wasn't about to let her out of his sight again. Not even for a second!

"You're cute!" Mads laughed happily. The little elf tilted his head slightly to the side and regarded Barrel curiously. "But you don't look like an elf…"

"Actually, I'm a…" Barrel started to say.

But he was interrupted by his new friend's excited chattering. "Ooh, don't tell me! I know what you are!"

"You do?!" Barrel asked in amazement.

"Yeah!" Mads said, clapping his hands together happily. "I can't believe I didn't realize it until now!" He pointed to the small red Santa hat on Barrel's head and exclaimed loudly, "The hat says it all! You're training to take over from Santa one day!"

Before Barrel could think of a suitable reply, a large shadow appeared over him and Mads. They both looked up to see Mrs. Claus standing in front of them with her plate of cookies. "Hmm… training to take over from Santa you say? Well that's news to me!"

Barrel gulped nervously as the old lady towered over him imposingly. He was busted for sure! She must have realized what he is and that he didn't belong here…

But to his surprise (and immense relief!) Barrel noticed that the old lady was looking down at him with kind, friendly eyes and she was smiling warmly. Like he'd done to Mads earlier, Barrel offered her his sweetest grin in greeting.

Fortunately, it turned out to have the desired effect! Mrs. Claus chuckled softly and her voice sounded very joyful as she said, "That grumpy old husband of mine didn't mention anything about training a young successor to carry on his work in the future! But then again, I hardly pay attention to his ramblings these days, so who's to say he didn't mention something about it in passing? Whenever he starts talking, I tend to switch off and just say _'yes dear'_ to whatever it is he's grumbling about at the time…"

Mrs. Claus laughed at her own joke and smiled at Barrel fondly. "It's okay, dearie. You look so cute in that hat and you have a wonderful smile! I'm sure you'll make a fine Santa one day!" She held out the plate of cookies to Barrel and Mads invitingly. Barrel felt the kindness radiating from her as she looked straight into his eyes and offered in a gentle voice, "Would you like a cookie, dearie?"

"Yes please! I do!" Barrel's heart practically did a somersault out of sheer joy. He couldn't believe his luck! Normally when he wanted something, he had to figure out a way to steal it. So far, all he'd done was sit there and look cute and now the kind old lady had just given him _permission_ to help himself to the divine-smelling cookies!

Barrel inhaled the mouthwatering aroma deeply and plucked a cookie from the plate eagerly. "They smell as good as the ones my mom used to make!" The little ghoul stared at the plate longingly before giving Mrs. Claus the sweetest, most adorable look he was capable of pulling off. He dipped his head forward slightly and looked up at her with big pleading eyes, blinking rapidly for maximum cuteness. "May I please have more than one, Mrs. Claws?"

"Of course you can, dearie! Everybody else in the group has already had their turn, so feel free to take as many as you like!" Mrs. Claus said with an adoring smile.

"Sweet! Thank you, Mrs. Claws! You're the best!" Barrel began grabbing as many cookies as he could possibly fit in his little hands, while his new friend; Mads the elf helped himself to the remaining cookies from the plate. Barrel closed his eyes in bliss as he started eating his cookies. He couldn't help uttering little noises of pleasure while he ate and Mrs. Claus found herself smiling at him adoringly.

" _What a sweet little thing he is!"_ She thought to herself fondly.

Barrel meanwhile, was totally immersed in his own world. _"This is the happiest day of my life!"_ He told himself as he munched away, making sure he savored every last crumb of those cookies. He wanted to remember this day forever! Not only were these cookies the yummiest thing he'd tasted in years, but Barrel also felt genuine love and acceptance from both Mrs. Claus and Mads - something he hadn't experienced since infancy.

Somewhere deep within his ghoulish soul, an old memory began to stir and a hazy image formed in his mind. He saw soft hands the same pale color as his own skin reaching towards him while a hauntingly beautiful voice; one he had heard many times in his dreams, sang to him gently. For the briefest of moments, Barrel thought he saw the face of a female ghoul come into focus before the image melted away into his sub-consciousness once again. But instead of feeling sad, Barrel found himself smiling fondly at the memory. The vision may have been cruelly fleeting, but finally Barrel thought he could put a face to the memory of his mother's voice and somehow he knew that it was those same feelings of love he had experienced from Mrs. Claus and Mads here today that had helped him to remember…

Barrel opened his eyes and smiled gratefully at Mrs. Claus and Mads. "Thank you. I'll never forget either of you." He promised quietly. The little ghoul ate the remainder of his cookies in silence, the heat from the crackling fire nearby warming his body while the kindness he received from Mads and Mrs. Claus warmed his soul. He wanted to stay here forever!

Unfortunately, Barrel's fantasy was short-lived and he was jolted back to reality by an irritated _"Psst!"_ coming from the direction of the doorway.

The little ghoul hesitantly turned towards the sound and saw that the front door had been pushed halfway open. No one else in the room seemed to have noticed, but from his position at the outer edge of the group, Barrel caught a glimpse of the top half of Shock's hat move past the same window he'd peered through earlier while Lock stood in the open doorway and beckoned to him angrily with one arm.

Barrel sighed and got up reluctantly. "Sorry guys. But I have to go now…" He told Mads and Mrs. Claus gloomily.

"Wait!" Mads objected, reaching out and catching Barrel's arm with one hand as he started turning away from them. "You haven't told us your name…"

Barrel stopped and gave his new friend a big ghoulish grin. "It's Barrel." He said softly. Then he turned back towards the door and walked out of the room to join his two cohorts outside.

As soon as he had closed the door behind him, Shock grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him aside before they could be spotted by any of the inhabitants of Christmas Town. "Why did you disappear on us, you idiot!" She scolded her younger cohort angrily. The young witch placed her hands on her hips and glared at Barrel spitefully. "Lock and I have been looking for you for more than an hour now!"

Lock quickly joined his friends around the side of the Town Hall building. "You picked a hell of a time to go sightseeing, Barrel!" He growled, baring his teeth at the little ghoul in frustration. "Did you forget what we came here for?!"

"I know! But…" Barrel tried to protest. But Shock shoved him in the chest and he fell backwards into the snow.

"No excuses, dummy!" She hissed meanly, her coal-black eyes full of disapproval. "You're always ruining our plans! Now we're going to have to run to the Holiday Doors if we want to get back home before Jack does!"

Barrel got to his feet and tried to stand his ground defiantly. "But I don't want to go! I want to stay here!"

Lock and Shock both stared at their littlest cohort in disbelief.

"Say again?" Lock muttered in complete astonishment.

"They _like_ me here!" Barrel insisted adamantly, pointing to the building his cohorts had _forced_ him to evacuate.

"How long do you think that will last?" Lock countered challengingly. The corner of his mouth turned up in a teasing smirk and his yellow eyes flashed with malice as he continued to drive his point home. "What do you think will happen when you take off that dumb hat and Mrs. Claws realizes that you're the little ghoul who helped kidnap her husband on Christmas Eve?"

Barrel's eyes widened in revelation and he looked down guiltily.

"Or the fact that after we stuffed Sandy Claws into the sack and loaded him in our tub, you decided to sit on his fat belly all the way back to Town?" Shock reminded her younger cohort with a snort of amusement.

"Do you really think Mrs. Claws will still like you then?" Lock suggested tauntingly.

Barrel sighed glumly. "I guess you're right…"

"Great. Now that we've cleared that up, I suggest we get going. We've wasted enough time as it is!" Shock pointed out impatiently. She grabbed Barrel by one arm while Lock took hold of his other arm and began marching out of Christmas Town. Barrel didn't say anything as he allowed his older cohorts to drag him towards the Holiday Doors. As much as he wanted to stay here indefinitely, he knew that Lock and Shock were right. Creatures like them belonged in Halloween Town. That's the way it had always been and always would be...

As the Trio approached the big hill on the outskirts of Town, Lock and Shock released their hold on Barrel's arms and walked on ahead of him. Barrel lagged behind as usual, dragging his feet listlessly through the snow as he went. He thought he heard a faint voice calling his name from somewhere behind him and he looked back over his shoulder curiously. A wide grin appeared on his face as he saw Mads the elf waving to him from the edge of Town. Barrel instantly felt his spirits beginning to lift at the sight of his new friend.

"Goodbye Barrel!" Mads called out happily as he waved.

Barrel waved back enthusiastically. "Bye Mads!"

Afterwards, Barrel felt reinvigorated as he followed Lock and Shock back to their own world. He realized now that life was one constant adventure and there were countless surprises and special moments to discover along the way! Barrel had never really owned anything more valuable than candy before. He knew that Lock and Shock both had a handful of personal possessions that they hid and carefully guarded. But Barrel had always believed that only edible things were really worth holding onto (and unfortunately, these never seemed to last very long...)

Today however, Barrel had found a different kind of treasure and he knew no one could ever take it away from him. He was going to hold onto the memory of what had happened to him in Christmas Town just like he had clung to the memory of his mother after all this time.

Those moments are exclusively his to cherish forever…

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed Barrel's adventure in Christmas Town :)** **I thought it would be fun to explore his past a little, since Christmas is all about family and spending time with the ones you love (plus I like to fantasize about the Trio's origins and what each of their parents might have been like :D That's something I'm thinking about exploring about each of them in my future stories…)**

 **Anyway, this story is turning out to be a little longer than I initially thought, so just letting you all know that it won't be finished before Christmas like I was planning. It still has a few more chapters to go and these will carry on past the New Year. I know it's still early, but since it doesn't look like I'm going to have the next chapter ready by Christmas, I want to wish everyone a very Merry and wonderful Christmas with all your families and friends :)**

 **One more thing before I wrap up this note! I'd like to express my greatest thanks to everyone who has tuned in to this story so far. Thank you to _Trilliumwoods,_** _ **Karebear49**_ **and the wonderful** _ **Guest reviewer**_ **for the lovely feedback for the previous chapter :)** **It really means a lot to me to hear that you are enjoying my stories :D**

 **Enjoy your holidays everybody and as the Pumpkin King himself once said: "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"**

 **Svinorita.**


	4. Stockings and a Bathtub

**Chapter 4 – Stockings and a Bathtub.**

The Mayor's hearse was already parked outside the entrance to Town Hall when Lock, Shock and Barrel arrived back in Halloween Town. Fortunately, there was still no sign of Jack and Sandy Claws, so the Trio had enough time to head to their Treehouse and gather the supplies they needed in order to execute their devious little scheme…

Giggling to themselves diabolically, the three Trick-or-Treaters hurried back to Town Hall and hid behind a nearby wall to lie in wait for their unsuspecting prey. It turns out they didn't have to wait long for Jack and a somewhat nervous-looking Sandy Claws to walk through the main gate and head towards the Improvised "sleigh" they would be using for tonight's novelty occasion. From their hiding place, Lock, Shock and Barrel watched as Jack said something they couldn't quite catch to the Mayor. The Mayor smiled at Sandy Claws in welcome and shook his hand politely before walking around to the back of his car and opening the rear compartment for them. Then he stepped aside and watched curiously as Jack and Sandy Claws began loading an assortment of small packages into the back of the hearse.

The Trio too were keeping a watchful eye on the presents being put into the hearse and trying to evaluate their potential value based on the size and coloring of the boxes. They noticed that some of the present boxes were wrapped in colorful, sparkly paper while others had been covered with shabby grey and brown scraps of paper and cardboard. Having grown up and lived in Halloween Town all their lives, Lock, Shock and Barrel knew that the presents wrapped with the drab colors were from here, while the brightly-colored ones must be gifts Sandy had brought with him from Christmas Town…

Lock turned to his two cohorts with a conspiratorial grin as Jack and Sandy Claws continued loading presents into the back of the hearse. "They're going to be leaving soon." His nasal voice sounded more mocking than usual as his gaze met Shock's coal-black eyes. "Are you sure you packed everything we need?"

"Of course I did! Unlike you, I'm well organized!" Shock replied snottily. She tapped her oversized witch hat proudly and said, "I have everything right under my hat! I packed a mouse trap, a dead bird, some small snakes… I even brought that huge tarantula that Oogie had been fattening up for his snake and spider stew right before Jack came along and put an end to him!"

The sound of a door being slammed shut drew the Trio's attentions back to the hearse. They saw that Sandy Claws was sitting in the driver's seat while Jack clung to the side of the vehicle, his long limbs preventing him from sitting inside the cab alongside Sandy. But this didn't seem to bother the Pumpkin King in the slightest and he tapped the roof of the hearse with a skeletal hand, giving Sandy the signal to start driving.

"Come on! It's time for us to make our move!" Lock whispered eagerly as he set off after the slow-moving vehicle. Shock and Barrel followed with equal enthusiasm, taking care to remain in the shadows as they began tracking the hearse on its journey through Town. Thankfully, it moved at a snail's pace at the best of times and the Trick-or-Treaters had no trouble keeping up with it on foot (no doubt in part due to the fact that Sandy Claws was at the wheel and he didn't know the layout of the Town very well…)

Despite the hearse's crawling speed, Jack's optimism remained as inspirational as ever. Clinging to the side of the vehicle with one hand, the Pumpkin King grabbed the megaphone with his other hand and announced cheerfully over the speaker, "Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas everyone! I have some very exciting news! Sandy Claws has kindly agreed to pay our Town a visit and he's brought presents for us all! I encourage all of you to give him a dreadful Halloween Town welcome and tell your children to prepare their Christmas stockings if they want to receive a special gift from Sandy tonight!"

All around, excited voices could be heard as the citizens of Halloween Town heeded Jack's message and came out of their homes to catch a glimpse of their special guest. Soon the streets were bustling with activity. Monsters gathered around and waved at the hearse as Sandy steered it through the center of Town while their overjoyed children searched for anything they could use in place of Christmas stockings to hang outside their front doors for Sandy to leave them presents in.

The Trio were forced to hang back in the shadows while the Town's other inhabitants crowded around the hearse and chattered excitedly as Jack and Sandy Claws went from door to door, distributing presents and spreading some Christmas cheer in the world of Halloween. But it wasn't just the risk of being seen that had made Lock, Shock and Barrel stop in their tracks for the time being. Jack's announcement about leaving Christmas stockings out had also given the little troublemakers pause for thought…

After a moment's deliberation, Lock and Barrel both turned to Shock expectantly.

"What are you two looking at?" Shock snapped irritably. Their intense stares were beginning to make her feel uncomfortable.

But she wasn't about to let them see it!

Lock gave her a devious grin, his yellow eyes flashing in the darkness unsettlingly. "Well you heard what Jack said, didn't you? We need to leave some stockings outside our house if we want to get any presents from Sandy Claws…" As he spoke, Lock took a step towards the flustered witch and gestured to her boots decisively. "You're the only one out of us who happens to be wearing stockings! So hand them over, Shock!"

Shock's mouth fell open in… well _shock._ She shook her head defiantly and instinctively adopted a fighting stance. Her expression turned into an angry scowl as she loaded the biggest rock she could find into her slingshot and aimed it straight at Lock's smug grin. "You want them, devil boy?" She pulled the rubber strap on the slingshot taut and said in a low, threatening voice, "Then come and get them!"

Barrel yelped in fright and hid behind Lock. Lock's grin faltered slightly as his gaze shifted from Shock's face to the slingshot and back again. His mouth twisted into an angry snarl and he flashed his pointy teeth at his older cohort menacingly. But Shock saw through his bluff and she refused to back down.

"What's the matter, you wimps? No takers…?" She sighed and lowered her slingshot, but her expression remained scornful as she declared, "Let's get one thing straight. I am _not_ giving you my stockings!" She turned her nose up at her younger cohorts aloofly before adding, "I am a modest young lady with very high moral standards!"

"You wish…" Lock snorted cynically. Barrel snickered in agreement.

Shock gritted her teeth in annoyance, but decided it was pointless trying to argue. Instead she sighed again and looked at her boots in resignation. "I can't give you my stockings because my feet will freeze without them. Besides, one of them has a hole where my big toe is, so it wouldn't make a very good Christmas stocking anyway…"

Suddenly, Shock tensed up as an idea hit her. She turned her attention to Lock and smirked at him wickedly. "How about you give us your socks, Lock?"

Lock grinned devilishly and gladly took off one of his curly-toed shoes. Before Shock had a chance to react, the little devil stuck his uncovered foot right under her nose and wiggled his toes mockingly. "You mean these puppies?"

Shock's eyes widened in horror and she felt the bile rising into her throat from the sight and stench before her. "Lock! Get your stinking foot away from me! That's disgusting!" She covered her nose with one hand and began retching as the vile smell of Lock's filthy sock lingered in her nostrils. As if the smell wasn't bad enough, the visual was equally nauseating. Shock couldn't even be sure what color that sock was, but she guessed that it _used_ to be white once upon a time. It definitely wasn't white anymore! The best way she could describe it was vomit-colored with a smell equivalent to rotten meat that had been left out in the sun for several weeks…

"When was the last time you washed that thing?!" Shock asked with a mortified expression. She was still covering her nose with one hand and Lock snickered evilly as he gave her hand a slight kick with the toe of his sock.

"You know what? I can't remember! So I guess not for a long, loooong time!" The little devil replied with a teasing grin.

"Just put your shoe back on!" Shock practically pleaded as she backed away to a safer distance. "Imagine if Jack or Sandy Claws decide to leave us some kind of pet for a present?" She pointed at Lock's foot accusingly and stated, "It would suffocate in there in under two seconds!"

"I suppose you're right…" Lock muttered with a resigned sigh. But even as he was putting his curly-toed shoe back on, he snickered evilly and couldn't resist boasting with typical devilish pride. "But if we _were_ to get a pet, it would probably die as a result of being overwhelmed by my awesomeness before it ever gets a chance to suffocate inside my sock!"

The hearse was no longer in the Trio's line of sight. But Lock, Shock and Barrel didn't seem to care anymore. They still didn't know what they were going to use as a substitute for Christmas stockings and besides, their Treehouse was right on the outskirts of Town. Jack and Sandy Claws would probably stop there last because it was so out-of-the-way. That is _if_ they would bother stopping by at all…

Barrel had been relatively quiet the whole time that his two older cohorts were debating about the stocking dilemma. He didn't even own socks since none tended to fit his odd three-toed feet anyway, so he didn't feel like he could be much help to them right now. Besides, he had other things on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about Christmas Town and the wonderful new friends he'd made there. He was still wearing the small red Santa hat and tinsel around his neck from his earlier adventure in Christmas Town tonight. Barrel decided that these, as well as the memories of meeting Mads; the elf and Mrs. Claus were better than any gift Jack or Sandy Claws could give him.

Barrel was so caught up in his thoughts that he only just realized that Lock and Shock had both gone quiet too. He looked over at his two older cohorts curiously and was surprised to see that they were both staring at him intently.

No. Not at him. But at the Santa hat on his head…

"What's wrong?" Barrel asked in a small voice, although judging from the way they were staring at his hat, he had a bad feeling he knew what was coming next…

Shock took a step towards him. The corner of her mouth was turned up in an arrogant smirk as she declared, "Time to improvise. We don't have any Christmas stockings, so that thing is going to have to do…" She started reaching for Barrel's hat with a no-nonsense manner that filled the little ghoul with absolute dread.

"No! You can't have it! It's mine!" Barrel protested shrilly. He planted one hand on his head and held onto his hat possessively as he backed away from Shock's outstretched hand. Shock was a little taken aback by her younger cohort's blatant objection. But her surprise quickly turned to frustration and she came at him more forcefully.

"I don't care! Just hand it over, Barrel!" Shock demanded meanly. She made another swipe at Barrel's hat, but the little ghoul jumped to the side and her hand grabbed empty air again.

Barrel was getting desperate now. He sounded like a very young child on the verge of throwing a tantrum as he held onto his hat with both hands and cried, "NO! This is my most prized possession! You and Lock both have personal belongings, but I don't have anything besides this hat! I'm not giving it to you or anyone else!"

Shock gritted her teeth in frustration and lunged at her littlest cohort with renewed determination, catching him by the sleeve of his costume before he could get away from her again. Barrel struggled against her grip as Shock began trying to forcibly pry his fingers off the hat and snatch it away from him.

"I said GIVE IT NOW!" Shock hissed through clenched teeth, her efforts to wrestle the hat away from Barrel growing rougher by the second. Barrel held on stubbornly, his voice beginning to shake with desperate sobs. He kicked Shock as hard as he could in the shin and wailed, "NO! It's mine, you nasty witch! You said no one was supposed to know that we followed Jack to Christmas Town!"

Lock suddenly intervened in the struggle. He'd been quietly enjoying watching his two cohorts bickering and was even contemplating joining in. But Barrel's words had reminded him of a worrying little detail about their otherwise brilliant scheme…

Without warning, he grabbed Shock by the shoulder and pulled her away from Barrel. Shock whirled around angrily and saw that his expression was grim. "He's right, Shock. If Jack sees that hat in front of our house, he'll know that we were in Christmas Town and he probably won't be very happy about it. He might even decide that we don't deserve any presents after all…"

Shock growled and threw her hands into the air in defeat. "So what are we supposed to do then? How are we meant to receive any presents if we don't have anything to leave in front of our house as an offering to Sandy Claws?"

Lock went silent. His tail flicked from side to side agitatedly, signaling his frustration as he tried to think of an alternative solution. Shock tapped her foot impatiently, her steely gaze fixed at the ground in deep thought. Barrel stood to the side and sulked, his eyes watching Shock's back distrustfully.

In the end, it was Lock who put forth the idea that they should use their mobile bathtub as a substitute for Christmas stockings. "Why didn't I think of it sooner? Of course we'll use the tub! That's what we always use when we need to carry stuff around, plus there's plenty of room inside for Sandy Claws to leave us lots of presents!" The little devil exclaimed with a devious chuckle.

A sly smile spread across Shock's face and she nodded in agreement. "Yeah! That will work just fine!"

Barrel seemed to temporarily forget his sulkiness and grinned in approval. "What are we waiting for then? Let's go get the tub in position before Jack and Sandy reach the Treehouse!"

With that, the Trio set off towards home. As soon as they had the tub ready, they intended to track down the hearse and inspect the presents Jack and Sandy left for the other children just like they originally planned…

XXX

The three Trick-or-Treaters had no trouble catching up with the hearse a short time later. They hid and waited as Jack directed Sandy to the houses where each of the Town's children lived. When Sandy pulled over, the Pumpkin King hopped off the hearse and grabbed some packages out of the back of the vehicle to leave in front of each house, putting the smaller gifts into whatever vessel had been offered up in place of Christmas stockings by some of the Town's youngest residents.

Each time the hearse drove out of sight or stopped further down the street, Lock, Shock and Barrel rushed out of hiding and inspected every present as carefully as they could without actually opening it. They didn't have time to unwrap every single gift before needing to move on to the next house, so they based their choices largely on visual appeal. If the color of the wrapping paper wasn't a good enough guide, the Trio resorted to picking up each box and tested to see how heavy it was or whether they could hear any sounds coming from inside. Whenever they liked the look (or sound) of a particular present, the Trick-or-Treaters would stuff the box into one of the three sacks they had brought with them and swap the stolen gift with a less desirable item from under Shock's hat.

By the time the hearse stopped outside their Treehouse, Lock, Shock and Barrel had already amassed quite an impressive collection of stolen gifts. They managed to fill all three sacks with a combination of locally-wrapped presents as well as a few of the brightly-colored ones that originated from Christmas Town. The three Trick-or-Treaters grinned at each other deviously. They were feeling rather pleased with how well their heist had gone. Still, the sight of the hearse parked in front of their Treehouse made their trickster hearts beat fast with anticipation and they quickly took cover behind a stand of dead trees at the top of the hill overlooking their home. From here, Lock, Shock and Barrel watched with mounting excitement as Jack stood beside the driver's side of the hearse and spoke to Sandy Claws encouragingly.

Fortunately, the wind was blowing towards them, so they could clearly hear what Jack was saying to Sandy even from this distance.

"Come on Sandy. This is the last one and then you can go home." The Pumpkin King said in an upbeat voice.

Sandy Claws gripped the steering wheel tightly and refused to get out of the car. "Oh no! I'm not setting a foot in that evil place again!" He shook his head adamantly and scoffed, "I have absolutely no reason to reward the horrible children that live here with presents! They tried to kill me! They're devil spawn if I may say so!"

Jack smiled and nodded amicably. "Ah yes, you mean Lock! There's also a witch and a ghoul…" The Pumpkin King's expression suddenly turned remorseful and he added quietly, "As for trying to kill you, it was all a big misunderstanding, Sandy. I'm terribly sorry about what happened, but it really wasn't their fault."

Sandy Claws looked unconvinced. He gave a deep sigh of resignation and said in a low voice, "Very well, Jack. But I still don't feel comfortable going near that place, so you're going to have to deliver the presents to them yourself."

Jack nodded in understanding and went around to the back of the hearse. He selected three packages and started carrying them towards the Treehouse. But as he got closer, he stopped and looked around in confusion.

"Sandy?" Jack called over his shoulder uncertainly. "I don't see any socks or stockings here. Where am I supposed to leave these presents?"

Sandy Claws stuck his head out the driver side window and looked at the base of the Treehouse more closely. Suddenly his eyes landed on a familiar object near the cage-shaped elevator and he burst out laughing. "Well, I'll be damned! Jack! It appears those nasty little miscreants want you to leave their presents in their bathtub!"

Jack looked to where Sandy Claws was pointing and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Are you sure that's what it's for? That seems a bit excessive, don't you think?"

"Oh trust me! That's exactly what they left it there for! For them, _everything_ goes in there!" Sandy Claws made a wheezing sound and added, "I should know… it wasn't too long ago that _I_ ended up in that deathtrap on legs!"

As Jack walked towards the claw-foot tub with his presents, he heard Sandy's laughter amplified through the hearse's megaphone and he couldn't help chuckling himself. He had saved the best gifts especially for his three favorite little troublemakers…

* * *

 **A/N: Happy New Year everybody! I hope you're all still enjoying this Christmas-themed story (or if you're like me, then you're probably more interested in discovering what Lock, Shock and Barrel have been getting up to now, rather than the whole Christmassy aspect of the story…;)**

 **Either way, I'd like to thank everyone that has been reading up till now and an extra-special thank you to the following people for their wonderful reviews in the previous chapter:**

 _ **Spitfire52**_ **– Thanks for the review! Lock, Shock and Barrel are definitely my favorite characters from the movie too :D I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so far and I can assure you that I'm planning to write more stories about the troublesome trio in the very near future :)**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– I owe you a double Thanks since I didn't get the chance to thank you at the end of the previous chapter before I got it up and posted! I loved your feedback as always and especially the way you were guessing what might happen to Barrel following the aftermath of his little Christmas Town adventure :)**

 _ **Trilliumwoods**_ **– Thanks! I really enjoyed writing those cute little moments for Barrel :)** **Speaking of which, I feel as though I'm getting the hang of writing each of the Trio's characters now (I always try to keep everyone in character as much as possible in any story I write. That's always been really important to me!) I do have one niggling concern that won't go away though and that's whether I've been making Shock appear too nasty at times? I have to admit, out of the Trio, I find Shock the most challenging to express because I get the impression that she's meaner than the boys, but sometimes I worry that I might be overdoing her bossiness?** **Another thing is that I keep making Lock "the voice of reason" throughout the story (mainly because he's the leader of the Trio, so it feels like it should be his responsibility and the other two ought to go along with his advice?) But having said that, I feel as if I'm mixing up Lock and Shock's roles at times! Should I be showing Lock as more impulsive (the instigator of mischief rather than the reasoning one?) and Shock as being "the voice of reason?" Sorry if I'm overanalyzing a bit, but I just want to portray each of their characters as accurately as possible and you always capture their personalities so well in your stories! If you have any tips or advice about how I can improve writing their characters, please feel free to share and I'd be more than happy to listen :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	5. Fair Exchange (Not!)

**Chapter 5 – Fair Exchange… Not!**

Jack Skellington couldn't help smiling to himself fondly as he placed three rather large present boxes into Lock, Shock and Barrel's bathtub. Each box contained a unique gift he had personally selected for his favorite Trick-or-Treaters, along with an additional present that Sally had insisted on making especially for each of the Trio.

"Merry Christmas, my little hell raisers." Jack whispered softly as he deposited the presents into the big claw-foot tub at the base of the Treehouse. He knew that Sandy Claws was watching him from the hearse which was parked a short distance away, silently willing him to hurry up so that he could return to his own world already. Unlike Jack, the king of Christmas Town was not a fan of the three Trick-or-Treaters and he was understandably anxious to leave the area as soon as possible. In fact, many of Halloween Town's other residents didn't particularly like Lock, Shock and Barrel either as the majority of them have had the unpleasant experience of finding themselves at the receiving end of the Trio's pranks at one time or another.

Jack himself had fallen victim to the little tricksters' pranks on more than one occasion. But none of that changed the way he felt about them in the slightest. Personally, he'd always had a soft spot for them despite the trouble they often caused for the rest of the Town. Although he'd never told anyone, Jack secretly admired their tenacious natures and insatiable desire for mischief-making. It brought back memories of his own childhood and the carefree, mischievous kid he had once been! He used to be just as naughty as the Trio and nobody liked him much as a kid either. Wherever he went, adults deemed him "too much to handle" and often shunned him for being so high-spirited.

Just as Lock, Shock and Barrel were repeatedly shunned by the other Townsfolk now…

Jack turned away from the bathtub and grinned broadly with satisfaction. "Yippee! I did it! I finally made Christmas happen just like I intended to from the beginning!" He exclaimed with a shrill cackle of delight.

As he walked back to the waiting hearse, he saw Sandy Claws watching him with an impatient expression. "Are we done here, Jack? Can I finally go home and rest my weary bones?"

Jack's smile grew wider and he nodded amicably. "Of course Sandy! Thank you so much for your help and for allowing the children of Halloween Town to experience the wonder of Christmas tonight like all the other children around the world!"

The Pumpkin King climbed aboard the hearse, clinging to the side of the vehicle as he'd done earlier since his height prevented him from fitting inside the cab and Sandy Claws started driving back in the direction of Town Square. Jack gripped the car's megaphone with one hand and announced loudly, "Citizens of Halloween Town! It is my pleasure to inform you that all presents have now been delivered! I shall escort our tired guest back to Christmas Town and when I return, we can all celebrate our Town's first Christmas together! So please, don't open your presents just yet…"

Lock, Shock and Barrel watched with mounting excitement as the hearse drove past the trees they were hiding behind and disappeared over the hill. "This is perfect! We've got enough time to go back to Town and see how the other kids react to the traps we swapped their presents with!" Shock said with a wicked cackle.

"Yeah! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they discover what _Sandy_ brought them for Christmas this year…" Lock snickered devilishly.

Shock held up her sack of stolen presents and grinned mischievously. "But first, let's take a look at what Sandy really intended to give the others. It will make watching their disappointment so much more enjoyable once we know what we deprived them of…"

The sound of ripping paper and high-pitched childish laughter filled the air as the three Trick-or-Treaters began tearing into their stolen presents on the spot. They weren't about to wait for Jack or anyone else to start their celebrations!

XXX

After what felt like an eternity for the Town's other young inhabitants, Jack returned and gave everyone permission to open their presents. Some kids squealed with delight and started ripping into their presents eagerly while a few that had fallen asleep waiting for the Pumpkin King's return, yawned and mumbled sleepily, "Maybe later…"

Lock, Shock and Barrel held their breaths with anticipation as they watched the tiny Mummy kid shuffle towards the present box they had left in place of the one Sandy had given him. Unfortunately in his haste to reach his present, Mummy Boy didn't realize that the bandages around his left leg had become loose and he accidentally stepped on the end of his trailing cloth wrapping, sending him sprawling flat on his face and unravelling his bandages even more in the process. He let out a frustrated groan as he sat up and began painstakingly gathering up his bandages and wrapping them back around his leg before they came off completely. His mother would scold him if she found out his bandages had unraveled in front of everyone! Opening his present would have to wait for now…

Shock turned to her two cohorts with an irritated grunt. "Come on! Everyone's going to open their gifts and go home by the time Toilet Roll here gets himself all wrapped up again! We'll check on him later. In the meantime, let's go spy on Ethan…"

The Trio made their way towards the Corpse Family's house and hid behind a wall just as Ethan made a dash for his present as fast as his chubby corpse legs could carry him. Lock gave his cohorts a toothy grin and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Let's see how much Ethan likes that fat, hairy tarantula we left for him!"

"This is going to be hilarious! He's going to freak out so bad..." Shock whispered excitedly. She glanced at her younger cohorts and informed them smugly, "That one-eyed teddy bear Sandy Claws meant to give him is more suitable for a girl like me anyway. I mean come on! Why would a corpse need a stuffed animal for?! I will take far better care of it than he ever could…"

Shock paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I might use it as a punching bag every now and then. Perhaps I'll give it a little make-over too? It might look even better with no eyes at all!"

A hushed "Shhh!" snapped the young witch out of her musings and she turned to see Barrel pointing in Ethan's direction eagerly. Ethan was currently ripping the wrapping paper off his present enthusiastically. He pulled the lid off the box... and looked very surprised as a humongous tarantula crawled out of the box onto his hand!

Lock, Shock and Barrel expected him to start screaming at any moment now. Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined the reaction that followed instead…

A smile slowly spread across Ethan's face as the huge, hairy spider stopped halfway up his arm and waved the two feeler-like palps near its fangs uncertainly at the young corpse child. "Mom! Dad! Look what Sandy Claws brought me!" Ethan called out joyfully. His parents; Ned and Bertha walked over to their son and looked at his present apprehensively.

"Isn't she beautiful? I've always wanted a pet!" Ethan exclaimed happily. He reached over with his other hand and gently stroked the spider's hairy back, which seemed to have a soothing effect on the large arachnid and she became increasingly relaxed the more Ethan petted her. The spider displayed her pleasure by tapping Ethan's arm repeatedly with one of her legs and the young corpse giggled with delight. "Can I keep her mom, can I? I promise I won't eat her!"

Bertha sighed and nodded slowly. "Okay, son. But you're going to have to feed her and take care of her all by yourself…"

"Thanks mom! I promise I'll take really good care of her!" The spider crawled the rest of the way up Ethan's arm and made herself comfortable on his shoulder like an eight-legged parrot. Ethan laughed and declared proudly, "I think I'll call her Charlene! I can't wait to show her to my friends!"

Charlene seemed just as happy with her new owner as Ethan was with her. She massaged his shoulder with her foremost legs in a spidery gesture of affection. Ethan laughed again and followed his parents back into the house, chattering excitedly as he went. "I can't wait for her to make a web in my room! Then everyone will come over to look at Charlene's web!"

The three Trick-or-Treaters looked at one another in astonishment. "I'll be damned!" Lock muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'll be bewitched!" Shock added in a screeching voice.

"I'll be hungry!" Barrel whispered, reaching into his pocket and taking out his favorite lollipop.

Shock gritted her teeth in frustration and turned away from Ethan's house with a huff. "Let's get out of here! Doesn't that dumb corpse know that tarantulas don't make webs?!"

The Trio went to the Bat Demon kid's house next and hid behind a tree just as their target was about to open his present. The original present they stole from him contained a toy car with only three wheels and in its place, they left a box full of mouse traps...

"Let's hope this one goes better after that disappointing reaction from Ethan." Lock commented tartly, keeping his yellow eyes fixed on the smaller winged-demon intently. But as soon as Bat Kid lifted the lid off his present box, a sharp-toothed grin broke out on his dark face and his red eyes glinted with excitement.

"Awesome!" He screeched happily, picking up two of the mouse traps and lifting them to his face so he could admire them closely. "These will help me catch my dinner more easily! Wait till I show my parents!" He scampered off into his house on his wingtips, leaving Lock, Shock and Barrel staring at his departing back in bewilderment.

Shock grabbed at her hair in exasperation. "Has everyone in this Town gone crazy or something?! We tried so hard to ruin Christmas for the other kids but so far they all _like_ the nasty surprises we left for them!" The young witch registered a movement out of the corner of her eye and heard Lock muttering something under his breath.

She turned to face her middle cohort with a narrowed eye. "What was that, devil boy?" She demanded crossly.

Lock grinned at her slyly and said, "I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about that toy car I stole from Bat Kid too." His smile faltered slightly and he furrowed his brow in concentration before adding, "But I do have a tiny dilemma. I can't decide whether I should call it _The_ _Bat Mobile_ as a reminder of who I stole it from, or _The_ _Lock Mobile_ after my awesome self…"

Shock pushed past the little devil and headed towards the Mummy kid's house with a sigh. "Boys are so stupid!" She muttered under her breath snottily. Her younger cohorts followed her obliviously, trying to shove one another into snow drifts along the way just for the fun of it.

The Trio arrived to find Mummy Boy still sitting in the snow, winding the last of his cloth bandages around his leg. They hid around the corner of a building across the street from the Mummy's house and waited with rapidly diminishing hopes of catching anyone reacting badly to their gruesome gifts...

Meanwhile, Mummy Boy had finally finished wrapping himself up in his bandages. His mother stood in the doorway, watching her young son with a stern gaze as he got up and shuffled over to her grumpily. "Why does this have to happen to me every time?! I had a really annoying itch behind my knee and when I unwrapped my bandages a little to get to it, they ended up unravelling completely!"

His mother's gaze softened a little at seeing her son so flustered. "You just have to be more careful, dear. Try not to let it dishearten you. It's Christmas and you should be having fun!" She picked up the present box from the porch and held it out to her sulking child encouragingly. "Go ahead and open your present. It might make you feel better…"

Mummy Boy took the present from his mother and started unwrapping it halfheartedly. But as soon as he lifted the lid off the box and peeked inside, his sulkiness was replaced with joy and a broad smile appeared under the bandages covering his face. "Look, mom! I got two baby snakes from Sandy Claws!"

He beamed at his mother as he picked up the snakes (which happened to be highly venomous saw-scaled vipers) in each hand and showed them to her proudly. The little snakes made a distinctive rustling sound with their rough scales as they wrapped themselves around his arms, causing Mummy Boy to utter a small laugh of pleasure. He was delighted with the way their abrasive scales rubbed against his bandages. "It feels so soothing! Now I don't need to unwrap my bandages to scratch an itch anymore! They can do it for me with their scratchy scales!"

Mummy Boy followed his mother into their house happily, laughing as the baby vipers tickled the bandages on his arms with their tiny forked tongues. The Trio exchanged despairing looks as the door closed behind the Mummy kid. Their disappointment was almost palpable by this point.

Lock kicked at a clump of snow with his curly-toed shoe and groaned in frustration. "What a letdown! I can't believe they actually _liked_ the gifts we left for them! I've never felt more disappointed in my entire life!"

"Me too!" Shock scoffed from beside her middle cohort. "Christmas sucks! I don't get why Jack thinks it's so great! It's like everyone is immune to pranks or something!"

"Let's go home! I don't even care about how the other kids react to our traps anymore!" Lock grumbled, flicking his tail angrily as he turned and began stomping off in the direction of the Treehouse. Shock glared at Mummy Boy's house and mumbled a nasty curse under her breath. She was still too young to conjure up spells and hexes like the older witches. But it didn't hurt to try…

Shock gave a sinister smile as she finished muttering her curse at Mummy Boy's door. Then she turned and followed Lock briskly down the snowy street towards home. Barrel brought up the rear as usual, complaining as his short legs struggled to keep up with his older cohorts.

"Wait for me, you guys!" He whined pitifully.

"You know what?" Shock whispered to Lock with a mischievous grin. "I think that snapping duck toy we stole from Mummy Boy could help Barrel overcome his slowness in the near future…"

Lock threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Barrel floundering in the snow behind them and snickered diabolically. "Good thinking! Maybe if he had that thing constantly snapping at his butt, he might learn to walk a lot faster!"

Lock and Shock both burst into high-pitched laughter just as Barrel finally caught up to them. The little ghoul tilted his head curiously at his older cohorts.

"What's so funny?" He asked in a breathless whisper.

* * *

 **A/N: Before I get down to thanking the readers as usual, I thought I'd share a little fact about myself and I know some of you may find this a bit creepy but hey… this is Halloween Town so I guess it's kind of fitting ;) At one point in this chapter, Shock made a snarky remark about Ethan's ignorance in relation to tarantulas not making webs. I'd just like to clarify that this is** **not** **entirely true! Sure, tarantulas don't make webs in the conventional sense. However they** _ **do**_ **produce silk like any other spider which they lay down at the entrances to the underground burrows they live in. So technically, it is a kind of web (or at least it serves the same purpose of alerting the spider to something that has stumbled into its trap.)**

 **How do I know all this about tarantulas you may be thinking? Well, here's a creepy fact about me:** _ **I love spiders!**_ **It wasn't always the case though. Believe it or not, I used to have severe arachnophobia up till a few years ago. But over time, I managed to cure my fear of spiders with self-desensitization techniques and through studying them and I ended up turning my former phobia into a passion! What many people don't realize is that spiders are surprisingly gentle creatures that just want to be left in peace. Like any other animal, they won't bite if they don't feel threatened and they actually do us a big favor by getting rid of insect pests around our homes…**

 **Okay. That's enough ranting about spiders from me! I'd like to send out a huge thanks to everyone that has been reading this story so far and a very special thank you to** _ **Trilliumwoods**_ **and** _ **Tripledent**_ **for those wonderful reviews in the previous chapter :D**

 _ **Trilliumwoods**_ **– Thank you so much for the support and encouragement, my friend! You have no idea how much your honest feedback and advice means to me! I just want to do the best job I possibly can with portraying our mischievous little troublemakers and you're one of the most passionate people I met here when it comes to Lock, Shock and Barrel :)** **More than anything, I want to do justice to their characters, so I'm really glad you're enjoying my interpretation so far! Thank you again! You're wonderful and I'm thrilled to have you as a friend :)**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– My friend! I cannot thank you** _ **enough**_ **for all the support you've given me throughout the past two years that I have been writing fan fictions! I probably would never have made it this far without such a great, supportive friend like you encouraging me every step of the way :)** **Ooh! That reference you made to _The Grinch_ was brilliant! (I've actually never read the story myself either ;) but I believe the general gist was pretty similar to what Lock, Shock and Barrel did by swapping out the other kid's presents. "The Three Grinches that stole Christmas from the very person (Jack) who tried to steal Christmas himself?!" Now there's an idea! As for how the other kids reacted to the Trio's latest prank? Well it appears the joke is on the tricksters! This whole debacle didn't go the way they were planning at all… :)**

 **Svinorita.**


	6. Save The Best For Last

**Chapter 6 – Save The Best For Last.**

It was well into the early hours of the morning by the time the disgruntled Trio arrived at their Treehouse. Lock and Shock were both in foul moods, partly due to the disappointing reactions they'd witnessed to their latest prank and partly as a result of Barrel's incessant whining as he struggled to keep up with them. Consequently, none of them realized they were being watched the whole time by dead, skeleton eyes…

Jack had hidden himself behind a grove of dead trees nearby to witness what for him was the highlight of tonight's Christmas adventure: seeing the reactions of his favorite little "hell raisers" as they opened the presents he and Sally had so lovingly selected for them! The Pumpkin King felt a buzz of excitement travel down his spine as he watched the Trio approach the Bathtub he'd left their presents in and stop hesitantly. This was it! He just knew they were going to be thrilled with his gifts! He'd saved the best for last, after all…

Shock looked at the tub of presents and gave an exaggerated yawn. "Let's get this fiasco over with so we can go to bed and finally get some rest." She stated tiredly.

"Yeah, let's. I am so over this whole Christmas thing already!" Lock agreed moodily.

"Guys? Is it okay if I open my present first?" Barrel asked with a lot more enthusiasm than his two older cohorts. It wasn't everyday he received a present and regardless of what Lock and Shock thought about Christmas, he was excited about getting a surprise gift from Jack or Sandy Claws just as much as the other kids had been earlier!

Shock stepped aside and waved her arm in a dramatic, sweeping motion. "Go ahead, make my night! Everything has been one big disaster already, so I don't see how it can get any worse…" She said sarcastically.

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion as he watched the Trio from his vantage point behind the stand of dead trees.

" _What's this? How could it have been a disaster?"_ He thought disbelievingly. To him, it sure looked like everyone else in Town had been excited about Christmas. What did Shock mean by disaster? Jack dismissed the thought with a quick shrug. She must be referring to something that had happened _before_ his Christmas surprise tonight. As far as he was concerned, the words "Christmas" and "disaster" just didn't go together in the same sentence, so that was the only logical explanation he could think of for her crude comment.

" _Just wait until she sees the present I've chosen for her! I'm sure that will cheer her up significantly and make her forget about whatever it is that's upset her!"_ Jack told himself with a small smile. He peeked out from behind his hiding place and his skeletal grin grew even wider as he watched Barrel waddle up to the bathtub and clamber over the side clumsily. Jack had written the children's names on the present boxes and marked each one with a unique symbol so they'd know which one was theirs when the time came to unwrap their gifts.

Barrel stood in the tub and eyed the three boxes carefully for a moment before locating the one that he thought had his name on it. He didn't know how to read, so he wouldn't have been a hundred percent certain had it not been for the picture that accompanied the meaningless letters: a grinning ghoul's face that closely resembled his own. Barrel picked up the box and showed it to his cohorts proudly. "Look guys! This one has my face on it, so it must be mine!"

"Duh! Of course it is! You can't read, so that's why Jack drew that image for you!" Shock pointed out teasingly. She nodded towards the tub and added snottily, "Mine doesn't have a stupid picture on it because I know how to read my own name!"

The young witch threw a quick glance at the last present box before turning to Lock with a smug grin. "Hmm… does this mean you can't read either, Lock? I can't help noticing that Jack felt it was necessary to draw a pair of horns and a swishy devil's tail next to your name."

Lock glanced at his present box and shrugged indifferently. "Well so-so. I'm not very interested in nerdy things like reading…" A toothy grin slowly crept across Lock's face and his yellow eyes lit up with pride as he added boastfully, "Reading is boring and a complete waste of time! I prefer outdoor activities!"

"Or maybe you're just too dumb to learn how to read properly…" Shock muttered under her breath tartly.

Barrel ignored his older cohorts' bickering as he climbed out of the tub with his present and shook the box experimentally. He could hear a faint squeaky noise coming from inside and his perpetual ghoulish grin grew even wider with anticipation. "Ooh! I think I love it already!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Barrel set the box down and started ripping off the brown wrapping paper eagerly, his little heart beating fast with excitement. As soon as the paper was out of the way, he tossed the lid aside and found a pair of comfy-looking moccasin shoes inside. They were violet-colored and had been custom made to fit Barrel's wide three-toed feet. As he picked one up to examine it better, Barrel discovered that they felt incredibly soft and warm to the touch.

The little ghoul grinned with delight as he held up his new shoes for his cohorts to see. "I've never owned a pair of shoes before! They're so soft and smell almost good enough to eat!"

As he was about to try on one of the moccasins, Barrel noticed there was a folded note inside the shoe. He took it out and stared at the words uncomprehendingly before offering the note to Shock with a hopeful smile. "Can you read what it says to me, Shock? Please…"

Shock let out a sigh as she took the note from Barrel and began reading it out loud: _"Dear little one. I hope these moccasins keep your little tootsies warm and cozy. Love, Aunt Sally."_

Barrel spun around and gazed appreciatively at the road leading back to Town. "Thank you, Sally! I love your gift and I'm going to cherish it forever!" He shouted into the night air in a loud, joyous voice.

Shock rolled her eyes and cuffed her littlest cohort on the back of the head in annoyance. "What are you yelling for, stupid? No one can hear you way out here!"

But she was wrong. Someone _could_ hear and see them just fine from the grove of dead trees nearby…

Jack's bony face lit up in a huge smile as he watched Barrel's ecstatic reaction to Sally's gift. He felt his excitement mounting when Barrel looked back into his present box and noticed there was another gift hidden inside. The little ghoul turned the box upside down and uttered a little squeal of delight as a big, red, juicy steak tumbled out and landed on the ground at his feet!

Barrel instantly forgot about his new shoes, his mouth already salivating as he reached for that delicious-looking steak hungrily. "Mmm… Yum!" He picked it up and bit into it with gusto… only to have his teeth sink into tasteless plastic while the "steak" produced a weird high-pitched squeaky noise.

Barrel's eyes widened in surprise and he promptly spat out the steak, staring at it in confusion as it flopped to the ground with another loud squeak. "It's not real!" He said with a disappointed groan.

Shock looked at her younger cohort with a smug expression. "Maybe that's because it's a plastic dog toy, dummy!" She pointed out snottily.

Lock snickered as he watched Barrel gather up his moccasins and give the squeaky steak toy one last despairing look, before shoving the offending object into his pocket, resulting in a long, drawn-out squeak of protest from the plastic steak.

"I would have preferred a real steak, but I'll keep it anyway. That way if I ever get lost, I'll just chew on it and you guys will be able to find me more easily." Barrel explained with a small shrug.

Over at the grove of dead trees, Jack scratched his skull in bewilderment after witnessing Barrel's unexpected reaction to his gift. "It isn't real?" He wondered out loud, his mind struggling to comprehend how he'd failed to notice such an obvious oversight earlier. It had certainly looked real to him! Then again, Jack wasn't exactly an expert when it came to food. He was a skeleton after all and didn't need to eat unlike many other monsters in Town that he knew required food on a regular basis to sustain themselves. He also remembered that Zero used to really love those squeaky steak things when he'd been alive, so it had seemed like a sensible choice at the time…

"I want to go next!" Lock declared loudly, standing on his tiptoes and lifting his present box out of the tub. He glanced at Shock decisively and added, "Just in case I got a note with my present like Barrel did and I need girl genius over here to read it for me. If she goes first, she may be too disappointed with her own gift to feel like reading afterwards!"

Shock crossed her arms and glared at the little devil defiantly. But Lock was too busy studying his present to notice or care what she thought. His box was considerably larger than Barrel's had been and he was surprised by how heavy it felt when he picked it up. He'd tried to convince himself earlier that this whole Christmas thing was lame and that he couldn't care less about what he'd find when he opened his own present. But now that he'd actually seen his present up close, Lock had to admit that he felt a little curious about what might be inside…

Lock grinned with anticipation and pounced on his present box like a cat attacking a ball of yarn, his small sharp nails making short work of the wrapping paper. He lifted the lid and was amazed to discover a small, red pitchfork inside the box. Lock couldn't stop his hands from trembling as he picked up the pitchfork and held it up to his face reverently. Pitchforks were highly-treasured (practically sacred) items to devils. Every devil dreamed of the day he would be bestowed with his very own pitchfork. It was a coming-of-age moment for a young devil that symbolized power and wisdom, a sign that he was ready to learn how to master the secrets of fire from his elders and take his place among the elite of the demon world!

"Sweet!" Lock uttered in an astounded whisper, turning the pitchfork slowly in his hands as he allowed his eyes to drink in every last detail of it. But his excitement quickly turned to confusion as his gaze shifted to the three-pronged end of the farming implement. For a moment, he couldn't believe what he was looking at. Then his disbelief gave way to outrage and he summed-up his displeasure with a very cheesed-off, "What?!"

Instead of having nice, sharp steel tips, Lock's new pitchfork sported dull, chunky plastic ends! Lock growled in frustration and smashed the end of the pitchfork against the ground as hard as he could. "Is this a joke?!" He demanded incredulously.

Without warning, the pitchfork suddenly lit up in Lock's hands and he yelped in alarm as its formerly red color was replaced with a blinding, neon pink hue. Lock threw his present onto the ground and backed away from it, blinking as though the bright pink light had hurt his eyes. When his vision finally cleared, he risked a quick glance at the vile thing and noted that it was glowing pinker than ever where he'd thrown it and he bared his teeth in a gesture of contempt.

Shock and Barrel meanwhile, were both rolling on the ground from laughter. Shock in particular was laughing so hysterically that she began to hiccup. Jack looked utterly dumbstruck as he watched the scene from his hiding place. "What in the name of Halloween had I been thinking… or rather not thinking, when I was choosing these presents?!" He asked himself doubtfully.

By now, Shock had succeeded in laughing herself hoarse. She picked herself up off the ground and wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. "Well, I guess you're a real, mean demon now, aren't you Lock?" She pointed to the glowing, pink pitchfork on the ground a few feet away and went on in a highly-amused, teasing tone of voice. "You've finally got your so-called _lethal weapon_ that comes fully-equipped with the latest safety features! Oh well… at least you can use it to scratch behind your ears more easily!"

Shock let out a loud snort as another fit of laughter threatened to send her into hysterics again and gasped, "And that gorgeous pink hue really suits you! I guess that makes you a _she-devil_ from now on!"

"Why you nasty witch!" Lock unleashed a deep snarl and launched himself at Shock. His teeth were fully bared and for the first time in his life, he felt a strong urge to bite her and really give her a piece of his mind! How dare she mock him so shamelessly?! His present may come equipped with blunt, safety tips, but his teeth were more than capable of inflicting a painful reminder to never make fun of him again!

Lock's eyes were filled with a primal fury as he slammed into Shock and knocked her to the ground with a startled yelp. But before the situation could escalate into a full-blown fight, they were interrupted by Barrel's desperate pleading as the little ghoul tried to diffuse the tension. "Stop it, you guys! You don't need to fight over this! I think that pitchfork is a perfectly reasonable gift…"

Much to Barrel's surprise, Lock and Shock had stopped struggling with each other and were currently staring at him intently. It was rare for either of his older cohorts to give him their full attentions for long, so Barrel seized the opportunity to drive his point across before they lost interest in him and decided to resume squabbling again. Barrel took a deep breath and began speaking as persuasively as he could. "Don't forget Lock, you are still a devil-in-training, so having a pitchfork with safety tips makes sense doesn't it? There's nothing wrong with that. You'll still look cool and you can use it to scratch your back with ease… maybe even to scratch _my_ back from time to time?"

Barrel glanced over at Shock and quickly added with a hint of sarcasm, "I suppose you can always stick those plastic prong-tips up Shock's nose whenever she's being nasty…"

A sinister smile crept across Lock's face as he glanced at his pitchfork, then at Shock's big witchy nose and back again. "Hmm… that sounds good me." He turned to Barrel and nodded in agreement. "Okay, deal. I'll keep it for now."

Barrel quickly changed the subject before Shock decided to vent her anger on _him_ for suggesting that Lock ought to stick the pitchfork up her nose. "Did you get anything from Aunt Sally?" He asked hastily.

Lock peered into his present box hesitantly. After the neon-pink pitchfork, he was understandably apprehensive about what other nasty surprise might be lurking in there…

Surely enough, there was another gift that he hadn't initially noticed when he'd opened his present and he felt a tingle of excitement course through him as he lifted the item out of the box to get a better look. It appeared to be some sort of metal hat or helmet with two rather formidable-looking horns attached to the top. The helmet's entire iron surface was covered with sparkly red and green gemstones and despite being made of metal, it felt incredibly light in Lock's hands as he lifted it and placed it on his head carefully to avoid messing up his neatly combed hair and "pseudo-horns" that he spent so much time brushing into shape every morning.

Thankfully, the helmet turned out to be a perfect fit – it was almost like a crown, lightweight and roomy enough to avoid squashing his hair but not so loose that it might fall off his head or slip down his face at any given moment! Lock turned to his cohorts and showed-off his new headgear proudly.

"You like that one don't you, devil boy?" Shock asked sarcastically. Despite her haughty attitude, she had to admit, that helmet _did_ look pretty cool…

Lock was beaming with pride. Wearing the helmet made him feel almost like a full-grown devil; powerful, regal and capable of doing anything. "It feels great!" He said aloofly. But deep down, he felt it was the best gift anyone had ever given to him in his entire life!

Jack nodded in approval as he watched from his hiding place. He had to give it to Sally: she really knows how to make others happy. The Pumpkin King gave a small chuckle as another thought crossed his mind. He on the other hand, had a real knack for making others feel awkward…

Lock and Barrel both looked at their older cohort expectantly. Before either of them could say anything, Shock rolled her eyes and reached into the tub to pick up the remaining present box with her name on it. She feigned disinterest as she got to work removing the wrapping paper and opened her present. Then she reached into the box and brought out a lovely velvet pouch; purple in color and covered with tiny blue and yellow gemstones similar to the ones that decorated Lock's helmet. In addition to the gems, Shock noticed there were small white stars embroidered into the fabric and a note written in what she recognized was Sally's neat, cursive script from having read Barrel's note earlier.

Shock held the velvet pouch in one hand and unfolded the note with the other. She read the note quietly under her breath so the boys wouldn't hear: _"Every young witch should have a handmade pouch to keep all the ingredients for her magic potions close at hand and close to her heart. I hope you like my little gift, sweetie. I know it's not much, but I hope it comes in handy for you sometime in the future and brings a smile to your face now. Love, Sally."_

Shock slipped the note into the pouch Sally made for her and tipped her hat forward slightly so the boys wouldn't notice the few tears that had worked their way loose from the corners of her eyes. She didn't like crying in front of anyone, especially not Lock and Barrel. She knew they'd tease her mercilessly about it for days if they knew she was crying now! But Shock couldn't help it. That pouch was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever given her in her life and she was deeply moved by Sally's kind gesture. As the only girl growing up with the boys and Oogie, Shock never got to experience female companionship. Sometimes she wished she had a mother or a sister to turn to for comfort when she felt sad and alone. It's something the boys could never possibly begin to understand, so she kept her emotions well-hidden from them like she was doing right now…

Lock and Barrel were totally oblivious to Shock's highly-emotional reaction to Sally's gift. Barrel was busy trying on his new moccasins, amazed by how soft and warm they felt on his feet, while Lock was lost in his thoughts. It had just occurred to him that he hadn't received a note from Sally whereas Shock and Barrel both did.

"Eh. It doesn't matter." Lock told himself with a dismissive shrug. Sally must have known that he's not big on reading and she didn't want to embarrass him by forcing him to ask Shock to read his note for him!

" _Sally is pretty cool."_ Lock thought with a little smile. _"She really does have a way with all creatures; big and small…"_

After a few minutes, Shock lifted the brim of her hat from her eyes and turned to face the boys somewhat pensively. "Okay. I think we should go to bed now." She began walking towards the Treehouse elevator, but Lock appeared in her way and held out his hand to stop her.

"Oh no you don't! You haven't finished opening your present yet! We want to see what you got from Jack!" Lock said with a devious smirk.

Shock let out an exaggerated yawn and tried to push past her devilish cohort determinedly. "Maybe tomorrow? I'm _really_ tired…"

But Lock was having none of it and refused to budge. He folded his arms over his chest stubbornly and tried to look imposing in his new helmet. "No way! You made fun of me and Barrel when we were opening our presents, so it's only fair we get to see what the Pumpkin King got you for Christmas!"

"Why? So you can make fun of me perhaps?!" Shock demanded defensively.

"Exactly!" Lock snickered wickedly.

"He's right you know, Shock!" Barrel chimed in defiantly. "You should be feeling grateful that Jack decided to give us presents at all! It's not like we really deserve it or anything…"

Shock growled in defeat and stomped back to her partially-opened present box begrudgingly. She peered into the box and sighed with relief when she found a small, harmless-looking broom inside. Shock took the broom out and showed it to her eagerly-waiting cohorts smugly. "There you go. It's a broom. Are you happy now?"

Lock and Barrel exchanged confused looks. That's it?! Surely Jack wouldn't have gotten her just a plain old witch's broom for Christmas? She already had one of those and she didn't even know how to use it yet!

Shock happened to be thinking the exact same thing as she scrutinized her new broom halfheartedly. "I suppose it looks a little nicer than the one I already have. But it's still just a broom…" As she was saying that, Shock accidentally pressed a hidden button on the broomstick with her thumb and the broom suddenly came to life in her hands! It made a weird sound effect, like a turbo engine on a high performance racecar, followed by a very loud, demonic-sounding **"Ho! Ho! Ho!"**

Shock screamed in fright and threw the broom into the air. She ran and hid in the bathtub, closely followed by Lock and Barrel, who were just as startled by the ruckus as she was. The possessed broom flipped in midair a few times, unleashing a barrage of deafening **"Ho! Ho! Ho's!"** as it fell towards the ground. The broom managed one final **"Ho! H-!"** before being promptly cut off by a sound effect like a car crashing into a concrete barrier as it hit the ground. Then it went completely silent.

Lock was the first to venture into the open after the broom had failed to display any further signs of life for a few minutes. The little devil approached the downed broom cautiously, his tail held stiffly behind him and every muscle in his body tense and ready to react should Shock's weird present decide to roar into life again.

"Just a broom, she said!" He muttered under his breath tartly as he gave the now-silent broom an experimental kick with his shoe. To Lock's intense relief, the broom remained quiet and still and he relaxed his posture slightly.

Shock poked her head over the edge of the tub hesitantly. "Is it safe to come out?"

"I guess so." Lock picked up the broom in one hand, his gaze coming to rest on the well-camouflaged button in the polished wooden handle that had set it off so spectacularly just minutes ago. He couldn't help grinning to himself mischievously as he allowed his thumb to hover over the button temptingly. "Unless that is, you want me to press this button here…"

"I'd rather you don't. It's scaring Barrel." Shock lied unconvincingly.

"Fine, I won't." Lock sighed and moved his thumb away from the button. But the mischievous smile never left his face as he said, "But I don't want to hear you make fun of my pitchfork ever again or else I'll go to your room every night and press this button over and over while you're trying to sleep!"

Shock climbed out of the tub and walked over to Lock to retrieve her present before he decided to start pressing the button purely to spite her. "Very well, devil boy. As long as you keep that pitchfork away from my nose, I'll be sure to keep this broom away from your tail!"

The Trio spent the next ten minutes gathering up their Christmas presents and taking them into their Treehouse. Jack shook his head in wonder as he watched them from the grove of dead trees. He felt he finally understood the true meaning of Christmas and it made him appreciate just how complicated Sandy's job really is! He already had plans to make the events of tonight an annual occurrence in Halloween Town. But from now on, he would get some much-needed advice from Sally about sensible gift-choices!

 **The End.**

* * *

 **A/N: I really enjoyed writing this story! As most of you have probably guessed by now, I absolutely adore Lock, Shock and Barrel (especially Lock! He is the cutest little devil ever and I love everything about him, XD) Anyways, I hope to write more stories about the troublesome Trio, as well as the rest of the Halloween Town gang somewhere further down the line :)**

 **Until then, I'd like to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been reading this story from beginning to end and an extra-special thanks to the following people for their wonderful reviews to the previous chapter:**

 _ **Trilliumwoods**_ **– Thank you so, SO much for your encouraging feedback throughout the story! I also love the idea of Jack having a special fondness for the Trio due to his own childhood (which I like to imagine was just as full-on and packed with mischievousness as our three little Tricksters are!) I'm also very passionate when it comes to animals (not only spiders, mind you, but ALL sorts of creatures!) so I really enjoy writing about different animal behaviors and having the characters in the story interact with them when the opportunity presents itself! I'm glad you enjoyed the various surprises the Trio experienced along the way (although I have to agree with Jack: I think the best surprises were saved for last :)**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– Thank you once again for your continued support throughout my writing journey! You really are one of the greatest friends I ever had! I totally agree that the Town's kids wouldn't have been nowhere near as thrilled with the original presents that Jack intended them to have… fortunately, Lock, Shock and Barrel were there to save their Christmas (despite their goals being to** _ **ruin**_ **Christmas for the other kids, LOL :)**

 _ **Hannah Melissa**_ **– I don't know how to thank you enough for ALL the reviews you sent my way not only for this story, but for "One Hit Wonder" in such a short time! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you… XD. Seriously, I'm so happy you're back and I hope you stick around for a looooooong time, my friend :)** **You also noticed that the Town's kids probably wouldn't have been too keen on the more traditional Christmassy gifts in opposed to Halloween-inspired ones supplied by the Trio, XD. I'm glad you enjoyed it all and I hope you stick around for any further TNBC stories I plan to write in the future! (By the way,** _ **"Merry Christmas, my little hell raisers"**_ **was my favorite line in the whole story too! I loved the idea of Jack calling them that so much, I just had to mention it again in this chapter, XD. I'm even thinking of making it a permanent affectionate term for the Pumpkin King to use for the Trio in my future stories too :)**

 **That's all for now, guys! Thanks again for reading and I hope many of you decide to check out my future stories! Until then, bye (and with Halloween Town terminology in mind) I hope you have a horrible night!**

 **Svinorita.**


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